All The World's A Game
by mustang-grl
Summary: A teenager, her friend, little brother, and mad scientist aunt. None have to do with KH until the aunt does a little experiment...
1. Chapter One

*****Ok, I know not many people like Riku/OC stories but I thought I'd give it a shot. If you don't like it, I understand. But if you do for some reason find it appealing, good for you. And for all you people that actually need to be told this, I don't own anything about PS2, Kingdom Hearts or anything else that you've probably heard of.  
  
Chapter One  
  
The sun was hanging over the landscape of a small suburb in Michigan. A soft breeze wound its way through the perfectly managed yards and into open windows leaving behind the fresh scent of morning. The small creek that ran behind the nearly identical houses created a relaxing sound when combined with the musical sound of birds singing in the distance. All was quiet since most of the occupants of the street were still slumbering in their clean homes. So peaceful…  
  
"HEY BELLA-DONNA!" a boy screamed into his sleeping sisters ear, piercing the numbing silence.  
  
  
  
Tumbling off the large mattress that served as a bed for the now very agitated sister, she sat up and glared flaming arrows at her younger brother.  
  
"Get outta my room you freaky little nomb!" she yelled before collapsing on the pillows and mumbling. "Besides, its Saturday…no school."  
  
"No duh bean dip. Auntie Albie needs you downstairs though."  
  
"Well tell her she'll have to wait, cause there's no way in hell I'm gettin' up at…" she grabbed for the alarm clock to see what ungodly hour it was. "…7:34. Come back in about four hours, or leave a message after the beep. Beeeeeeep."  
  
"No can do." he said and crossed his arms over his small chest. "And she gave me full permission to threaten you if you don't"  
  
" 'You' threaten 'me'? What are ya gonna do? Give me an overdose of children's Tylenol and beat me with a rubber chicken?" she chuckled and teased while still laying face down on her pillow.  
  
"Not quite…" the boy of ten walked over to the wall of his sisters attic room and tapped a finger on a small black box with some buttons and a speaker on it. It took the sixteen year old girl to a minute to figure out what he meant.  
  
"If you don't get up I'll play that Simple Plan song you hate so much, over, and over, and over, and over…"he finished with a grin that was missing a tooth.  
  
Bella let out a muffled scream into the pillow that signaled her brother had won. With a victorious grin, but also a bit disappointed that he wouldn't be about to torture his sister, her walked to the door that led back to the second floor.  
  
"I thought so. But if your not down there in ten minutes…" he took a deep breath and started singing with his high pitched squeaky voice. "I'd do anythiiiinnngggg, just to hold you in my arrrrmmmsssss!!" his voice echoed through the house and he descended the stairs. The teenager pulled the pillow over her head trying desperately to block out the sound.  
  
Bella-Donna's long slightly wavy hair, that was stained a charcoal black from her Egyptian ancestry, peeked out from under the milky white pillow case. Her naturally tan skin, that was also from her heritage, seemed a bit darker in contrast to the pillow she was currently hanging onto. After a few seconds, she lifted the feathery object off her head and sat up in her bed while looking around with half lidded eyes. Those eyes where painted a pale blue from her fathers American family.  
  
  
  
Swinging her legs over the mattress and staggering to her feet, she made her way over the thick carpet of her room to the plain blue rob hanging from the closet door. Pulling the rob around her body that was already coated in large baggy pajama pants and old tank top, she looked at herself in the mirror.   
  
She was around 5"8' or 5"9' and wasn't a stick figure like a lot of girls around her age were. Now she defiantly wasn't fat, but she wasn't really skinny. She thought her 150 lbs. form fit her just fine. Other than that, she had the face of her mother. Narrow with high cheekbones and full lips, with a slightly protruding upper lip. Her skin was smooth except for the four or five usual pimples that were placed here and there. But they were hard to spot because of her tan skin.  
  
Running a hand through her messed hair in an attempt to smooth it down, Bella let out a sigh and followed suit to her little brother and walked downstairs.  
  
The house she lived in was fairly clean except for the few glasses, cans, candy wrappers and laundry that were strewn in some places. On the walls hung numerous pictures of family and friends, but mostly Bella and her little brother 's parents off in some other country. Some of the others consisted of pictures Charlie had drawn when he was a little kid, and drawings Bella-Donna drew recently.   
  
The hall way that she took to get to the stairs to the first floor had a shiny wooden floor. The girls footsteps sounded softly as she walked by the doors to other rooms in the house, meaning Charlie's room, the library, and one of the offices in the large house.  
  
Reaching the other set of stairs, she silently descended them while running a hand over the glossy wooden banister. As she made her way through the last hallway she had to travel through before she reached the kitchen, an odd smell lofted under her nose. Scrunching up her face Bella stepped into the kitchen to see her Aunt Albie sitting at the table with her brother next to her, attempting to spell out his name with the Alphabets cereal.   
  
"Ah, good morning B.D. . Sleep well?" Aunt Albie questioned looking up at the girl from her paper work that was scattered across the table. Bella only nodded briefly in response and plopped down in the chair at the other end of the table. Looking from Albie to Charlie, she laughed when the boy dropped his spoon down in the cereal that was completely saturated with milk, and spilled a bit on some of her Aunt's papers. Albie however paid no mind to the little accident and continued on writing. Rubbing her forehead with her fingers, Bella groaned and broke the silence.  
  
"So, what did you want me down here for again?" she questioned her Aunt. Albie looked up with a thoughtful look on her face, like she had forgotten why she had called her niece down there. Then it hit her and she snapped her fingers.  
  
"Oh, yes! That! My dear, I was wondering if you would mind possibly loaning me something for a while." she asked and looked at Bella-Donna through her thick black framed glasses. Auntie Albie's name was actually Alberta Ressurea, but when B.D. and her little brother moved into her household they quickly came up with an easier name to call her by.  
  
Bella-Donna and Charlie's parents had been architects. Traveling all over the world and barely ever being home for Christmas or Thanksgiving wasn't the right kind of life for parents. But they tried as best as they knew how. Bella even remembered being brought to several different foreign countries a few times, Charlie was too young to remember anything though. Most of the time they stayed with Auntie Albie until the two returned to them. They always had returned to them. Except for their mother.  
  
Who would have guessed that the land where her ancestors lived would be the land where she died? The children's mother fell prey to the desert heat and the lack of water. Their father returned, but he was never the same. About three months after he came home, he also passed away. Many said it was a broken heart that struck him down.  
  
"Depends on what you wanna borrow." Bella-Donna mumbled, still trying to fully wake up.  
  
"Welllllll…you would really have to trust me." Albie said putting on a pathetic face. At least as pathetic as a 46 year old woman could get.  
  
"Okayyyyy…what is it?" Bella asked narrowing her eyes a bit in suspicion.  
  
"Your video game thingy." she said while she looked at her niece through the corner of her eyes.  
  
"You gonnna have to be most specific than that Auntie Albie. I've got the original Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Sega…take your pick."  
  
"Your Playstation 2?" Albie said and kind of backed away timidly waiting for the girls protest. But all the girl did was sit there and stare at her then calmly say.  
  
"Buy Auntie Albie. That wasn't one of the selections I gave you." she replied with wide eyes, looking at her aunt like she was crazy for asking such a question. When the older woman didn't say anything, Bella only shook her head slowly and mouthed 'no'.  
  
"Oh come now B.D. . I'll be careful with it. And if anything does happen to it, which nothing will, I promise to replace it." she begged the girl as she just sat there staring at her. Letting out a sigh, Bella came to a decision.   
  
"Fine, fine! Take it, but you have to swear to get me a brand spankin' new one if you bust this one up." she said standing up and pointing a finger at her aunt.  
  
"I swear to you I will buy you a new one if I 'bust this one up'." she said impersonating her niece. "It will be first on my agenda."  
  
"First on your agenda huh? Like…Charlie needs a new lung, but my Playstation comes first?" she asked with a grin and held out her hand to her aunt.  
  
"Playstation before lung, every time my dear." Albie reached out and shook Bella-Donna's hand, but before pulling away she added. "By the way, I'm going to need to borrow one of your games."  
  
"WHAT?! No, no, no. The Playstation fine, but the games?! What exactly are you gonna do any way?" she questioned her aunt and followed her into the living room where the games were stored, leaving Charlie to his cereal.  
  
"I can't tell you that at this moment dear, but I promise I will fill you in as soon as possible." she bent over and began going through the numerous games that were scattered on the floor. Then seeing one of interest, she picked up her eyes wide with excitement.  
  
"This one is ABSOLUTLY perfect! Oh, it's so exciting!" she said and gave her niece a little hug before running off down the hall. Bella only shook her head and looked down to the games. Deciding to be uncharacteristic, she began tidying them up and putting them all back on the shelf. Sighing, she sat back and looked at them all. They ranged from Spyro, to the Sims, to Jax and Daxter, all the way to Final Fantasy X2. But her absolute favorite was…gone? Wait…where? She didn't…  
  
"AUNTIE ALBIE!!!"  
  
*******  
  
Two weeks it had been sense her aunt kidnapped her Playstation and video game. Of course if you hadn't realized it yet, that game was the wonderful Kingdom Hearts. Bella-Donna had tried to get any info about what in the world she was doing out her of aunt, but whenever she saw her she would only rush by mumbling something to herself.  
  
At the moment Bella was laid flopped on her bed staring up at the ceiling, pondering what the hell her crazy aunt could be doing with her game.  
  
Aunt Albie was a weird one alright, but she was great. Her husband had died before Bella-Donna was born and had left Alberta great sums of cash. And the fact that she used to be on a research team and was still getting money from that gig helped expenses a lot too. Bella had never seen her aunt work, just walk around the house writing notes and going out of the house for science conferences now and then.   
  
  
  
Auntie Albie's usual ensemble was her thick black framed glasses, and a plain white lab coat which she hardly ever took off. Her hair was dark brown, and never seemed to stay in the same place long. Even though Albie was the adult of the household, it seemed that Bella-Donna was doing most of the cleaning and cooking, and she really didn't have a problem with any of it. She knew how important Auntie Albies experiments were to her.  
  
Letting out a sigh when she heard her phone ring, she reached over and pushed the button for the speaker phone.  
  
"Yeh?" she questioned groggily.  
  
  
  
"Hey there Cleopatra." Bella-Donna smiled at her friend, Erin's, nickname for her.  
  
"Hey Erin, how goes it?"  
  
"Eh, as good as can be expected. Hey, I got a new game. Ya want me to bring it over so we can play?" she questioned. Bella shook her head at her friend. It seemed that every week that girl got a different video game.  
  
"Sorry, no can do." she answered back, disappointed.  
  
"What? Do my ears deceive me? Bell-Donna Ressurea says no to a game? What gives?!"  
  
"Believe me I would, but Auntie Albie has the Playstation down in her 'secret lab'." Bella said, quoting with her fingers sarcastically.   
  
"Why would she want your Playstation?"  
  
"Believe me, if I knew I try to find her something else to do." Bella continued. "Although it be priceless if I found out she was just down there all day and night playing Kingdom Hearts."  
  
They both gave a laugh, until a loud crash echoed from Bella's end of the line. Bella sighed and rolled her eyes.  
  
"Hey Erin I better go and make sure the old bats still kickin' down there. I'll talk to ya tomorrow ok?"  
  
"Heh, yeh whatever Cleo."  
  
Bella clicked off the phone and hurried down stairs to her aunts 'secret lab' which was disguised as any other door, but was usually bolted shut from the inside. This time, however, the door was open and a bit of smoke leaked out of it. Charlie, who was currently glued to the T.V. made no attempt to look into the lab since this had happened many times before. However this time there was not only smoke, but there was also a triumphant cry from Albie.  
  
"I did it! I actually did it! Oh, this is absolutely stupendous!" she cried and ran up the stairs of the lab to meet Bella by the door, who had a confused look plastered across her face.   
  
"Bella!! I've done it!!"  
  
"Should I even ask?" she replied with a raised eyebrow. Suddenly, Albie grabbed her arm and pulled her down the stairs to the lab, making sure the door shut behind them.  
  
"Hurry B.D., we mustn't let Charlie see just yet." Alberta explained as the reached the center of the lab. The whole space was only about as big as half of a basketball court, but was crammed full of equipment. Glancing around, Bella-Donna noticed that several things had changed since she was last down there.  
  
There was several new computers in the far corner, and many, many more papers scattered around. But the thing that caught her eye the most was the new…phone booth?  
  
"Um, Auntie Albie is that the booth that went missing on Fourth Street?" she questioned and watched as the woman looked from her to the phone booth then back again with a shrug.  
  
"All in the name of science my dear, all in the name of science. Now let me show you this." she said and guided Bella toward the equipment. Near on of the computer monitors sat the Playstation which was fully on and ready for play. Before she could ask any questions, Albie flipped some switches on the different types of machines and the whole room buzzed to life. Auntie Albie sat down on a stool and pulled an extra chair up and motioned to Bella to sit.  
  
"Now Bella, I know you may think I'm a little crazy at times." she paused when a grin came on B.D.'s face, but continued. "But I'm not 'that crazy'. Now, I asked you to leaned me you game a few weeks ago without any reason why. And by the way thank you for that. Anyway, the point is that within every game there is a possibility. The possibility for being created, opened, the possibility for it to become a reality. The old games, I've found, weren't detailed enough. They lacked texture, warmth. But these new games." she held up the box to Kingdom Hearts.  
  
"They have all that. People put in so much detail and realism to these games that those possibilities I mentioned become greater. The only thing that is stopping these possibilities is people not willing to try them. But B.D., I've found that if one puts the time and effort into this, that those possibilities can become reality."  
  
Auntie Albie finished and sat back looking at Bella's face for any kind of reaction. All she found was a blank stare.  
  
"What are you trying to say here Auntie?" she questioned, almost afraid of the answer. Had her aunt actually lost it?  
  
"Now I know your not that dense dear, come, come." Albie motioned her to the phone booth, and next to that was a blank computer screen. Pushing the button on the screen, it flashed on showing the beach of Destiny Islands. But with no Sora in sight.  
  
"Hey, that's…" Bella started but was interrupted when Auntie opened the booth and placed a piece of paper in it. Making sure the door was shut tight, the woman stepped back and looked around the booth before punching in some numbers on a key pad that was installed.   
  
After a moment of silence, a whizzing noise echoed through the lab and a bright light passed over them. When the light had retreated and the noise died down, Bella opened her eyes and looked back at the booth. Her Auntie Albie said nothing, just waited to see if B.D. would catch on.  
  
'Well its still a phone booth', Bella thought to herself. Hold up. The paper, where's the paper? Bella squinted her eyes and moved closer to the booth before opening the door, finding to trace of the paper that Albie had place inside. Looking up at her Aunt for some kind of answer, she only saw the scientist smile and point toward the monitor next to her.  
  
Slowly Bella-Donna turned her head toward the screen afraid to see what might be there. It couldn't be. Nothing was going to be there, right? Wrong. Very, very wrong.   
  
It may have proven every other scientist in history wrong, but there on the beach of the one and only Destiny Island was the same piece of paper that was laying in that old phone booth.  
  
Bella turned back toward her Aunt trying to find something to say, but couldn't find the words. Finally she stopped and regained her composer, then spoke.  
  
"How?"  
  
"Like I told you. Every game has the possibility, all I had to do was give it life."  
  
"The paper…it's…" Bella stuttered then asked the big questioned. "If the paper…then can…we?" she asked and gulped.  
  
"Yes girl, yes."  
  
*********Ok, there. My first Kingdom Hearts chapter. Now, REVIEW!!!! 


	2. Chapter Two

*********OH OH OH OH!!! Guess what? For one, I'M 16!!!!! And for two, I'M GETTING A TATTOO!!!! And I'm seriously thinking about getting something related to Kingdom Hearts. Like just the heart symbol or somthin'. Anyhoo, here's the next chapter.  
  
Chapter Two  
  
Bella-Donna stood in her place just blankly looking at the monitor. That piece of paper was really 'there', and it 'was' here…So this is what Auntie Albie had been up to for the past few weeks. B.D. had expected a prototype of a time machine, a virtual reality game, or even another robot of some kind. At that thought her eyes traveled over to were the pile of failed androids were suppose to be. Yep still there. She had expected anything…but not this.  
  
Albie was standing near by, her hand clenched in front of her excitedly and eyes wide behind the coke bottle glasses, waiting for a response. At the moment the girl was so happy, all B.D. wanted to do was to jump up and dance around like a trained monkey. She couldn't hold all of the emotion back and a huge grin spread across her face making the dimple on the on the left side of her face emerge. For a few moments she just kept grinning like an idiot at the screen until that little bit of sense she had left jumped into play.  
  
"Wait, wait, wait, wait." her face was wiped clean of the happiness and was replaced with confusion and a bit of a laugh. "You can't just, just…BRING this whole world to life and not expect anything to happen Albie. I mean…ah, HEARTLESS! Big problem there! Won't messin' with all this 'other dimension' stuff cause a…a…I dunno, somthin' that always ends bad in the movies?!" she yelled and flung her arms around.  
  
"Way ahead of you." the woman stated proudly and walked over to where the Playstation sat. "I've equipped the…uh, equipment so that it will only stay on this stage of the game. That is unless someone comes in and simply, pushes…the start button…" she started to fade out when she saw the look her niece was giving her.   
  
"Okay so maybe it does sound 'very' easy to get the whole thing going. Even if it does start up, all we have to do is shut it off again. That is, unless someone is currently in there of course. But in turn that would wipe out everything that happened while…"  
  
Bella-Donna wasn't listening to her aunt anymore. 'If someone is currently in there.' In there, Kingdom Hearts. Bella was still trying to absorb all of the new possibilities. She, herself, could actually be in that world. It would feel so good to break away from reality, and here her dear Auntie Albie was making it a possibility. Bella came back from her thoughts to catch the last part of her aunts speech.  
  
"…so after the testing you'll be free to go on through my dear." she smiled and turned toward some plastic crates and started rummaging through them.  
  
"Huh, wait, what testing?" Alberta sighed at her nieces short attention span, but answered the question.  
  
"To see if humans can withstand the dematerializing and rematerializing, and the trip there and back again." she explained while continuing her search through the crate.  
  
"And how are you gonna test this, dare I ask."  
  
"Why my dear, with a test subject of course." Albie proclaimed while slamming on an old bicycle helmet with headphones and a microphone…super glued on? She noticed the odd look she was receiving and explained.  
  
"So I can communicate with you while I'm in there, and this," she held up the remote to their old television. "Is so I can get myself back. But if anything does go wrong and the remote malfunctions or something like that, this button right here should bring me back." she finished and motioned to a button on the keypad of the phone booth. Grabbing her usual note taking notebook, Albie stepped into the booth.  
  
"By the way Albie, when I go in…do I have to wear…?" she tapped on her head meaning her aunts helmet. Alberta gave a small laugh.  
  
"Why no Bella. This is only a prototype. I know how you girls are…wouldn't want to look 'dorkish' in front of a 'hot boy' now would we?" she replied doing the best she could to say it in teen language, but failed. B.D.'s eyes went a little wide at her aunt saying that, but before she could say anything Albie started again.  
  
"Just watch the monitor and flip the switch on the radio to talk." she raised her hand to her forehead to salute. "Well, wish me luck Bella-Donna."  
  
The girl opened her mouth again to say something, but the flash of light flooded the room again and Albie disappeared. B.D. blew out a puff of air and looked toward the monitor to find…nothing? The beach of Destiny Island was just as it was the piece of paper and all, but she had expected to see Auntie Albie somewhere one the screen. And to Bella's confusion she was nowhere to be seen. This couldn't be good. Bella was starting to get a bit frantic. She searched and searched the screen, but her aunt wasn't there. Reaching to the radio the woman had pointed out before she left, B.D. flipped the switch and spoke into it.  
  
"Albie?! Auntie Albie, you there?" she paused to listen for a response. Tapping her feet nervously, she continued to listen closely in the radio for any sound of her aunt. When she was about the repeat the call, the static broke from the other side.  
  
"Yes, yes! Hello there deary!" the enthusiastic voice of the woman flowed through the speaker. Letting out a sigh of relief, Bella questioned her aunt about her whereabouts'.  
  
"Where are ya? I can't see you on the monitor." she sat down in the rolling chair nearby and slid over to the screen.  
  
"Oh, hmm. Well, I'm in what seems to be a shack of some sort. You know this place better then I do, what place looks like a small shack and has…what's this over here?" the sound of stumbling came from Albies side of the radio and B.D. rolled her eyes as the woman finished. "Uh, stairs…"  
  
Bella stopped and thought for a moment. Stairs…shack. 'Come on, this is no time for a brain fart' she thought to herself. She sat in silence for a moment before cursing herself for not remembering. Duh.  
  
"Okay, is there a door nearby?" she asked, a smile growing on her face.  
  
"Let's see. Door, door, door, door, door…oh yes here's one!" she called and the sound of a door opening echoed through the radio. The static took over the speaker, and Bella looked toward the monitor with squinted eyes. She didn't have to look long before she spotted her aunt stumbling out of the Seashore Shack and into the bright light of the lush island.   
  
Bella Donna watched as her aunt wadded through the thick sand that covered her old beat up sneakers. If she hadn't stopped herself, she was sure she would have let out a giddy squeal of delight. It all was just so hard to believe. Her thoughts drifted to all the hours she had played the game over and over, unknowingly memorizing every world, every room and every character that the brave keyblade master came across. And now all those things that she could remember on the dot were just a phone booth away. Bella was shaken from her thoughts when Albies voice rang through the radio.  
  
"Bella? Bella are you there? This is the most amazing place I've ever been dear! The fresh salt air, the tropical weather, the green palm trees swaying in the breeze, the…very, large mosquito." she finished and Bella could see her aunt swatting at something as it flew around her head.   
  
For the next half hour or so the 16 year old continued to watch her nutty old relative wander around the beach, and tried to stifle her laughter when the older woman tripped or collided with an object when she wasn't paying attention. All the while Bella was hoping desperately for one of the islanders to show up, but now life besides the occasional bug wandered upon the beach that day.   
  
The day wore on and on until the sun that hung over Bella's home was finally overtaken by the darkness of night. To the girls wonderment, the sun that lit the beach of Destiny Island also set, leaving the whole island as dark and mysterious as the entrance to the Secret Spot. Before Bella knew it, the bright light that signaled the entrance of her aunt filled the basement and the batty old scientist stepped out and walked over to her niece with a big grin on her face. She motioned for B.D. to open and hold out her hands in front of her. When she did as she was told, Albie opened her own hands to let the souvenir she had collected spill into the girls hands. The crisp, glimmering sand that was still warm from the Destiny Islands heat.  
  
*********Ok, this chapter was really boring I know, I'm sorry. But it felt kinda wrong to just throw her into the game right away. So, even though there's not much to review…DO IT ANYWAY!!! Please? 


	3. Chapter Three

**********Hello everyone, I'm back. And I've come baring gifts. So, read this chapter and then the note I leave at the bottom for an address with some pictures of Sora, Riku, and Auntie Albie that I've drawn. But ya gotta read the chapter first…well I guess you don't 'have' to, but it would be nice…  
  
Chapter Three  
  
Bella laid on her back staring over at the pile of sand on the table next to her bed. The warmth it had when Albie brought it over had long since faded, but the fact of where it came from itself was enough to make her keep it. They hadn't told Charlie about the new device in their basement yet, and didn't mean to for a while. If he knew that he had a portal into video games…well, Bella didn't even want to think about that.   
  
It had been two days since she had seen Albie pass through the phone booth, and she was a little less then satisfied when the woman told her that she still couldn't go into the game. Albie had promised that after she tested it that B.D. could go in, so why in the world was she still her instead of there?!  
  
The girl sighed at her thoughts. It was extremely frustrating to her, and the knowledge that Albie was going away for a few days to a convention of some kind and the lab would be all locked up, made her even more angry. She wanted to try to get in that game damnit! Rolling over in her bed, she looked through the window at the clouded over night sky. What 'would' things be like in Kingdom Hearts? Would she be computer generated or would she look the same? Auntie Albie looked the same to her when she saw her on the monitor, but Bella hadn't really asked her what it was like it there. She almost hit herself for not doing so. Albie would be long gone by the time she woke up in the morning and went to school.  
  
Deciding to let sleep take over her, she started closing her eyes with a small grin on her face from her final thought. Albie may lock up the lab before she leaves…but aren't all locks meant to be broken?  
  
******  
  
"And that's what a chemical bond is." the chemistry teacher finished as the end of last period neared. Bella sat it the front row of the room, and was currently debating on weather or not to tell her friend, Erin, about the phone booth portal. She had pretty much been in her own little world all day and probably missed out on a lot of assignments, but she couldn't get the idea of going to Destiny Islands out of her head. She had to tell someone, something, before she screamed. As she was about to go into another thought, she was interrupted by the teacher starting one of his funny real life experiences.  
  
"I just completely lost my train of thought…" he began then looked up at the class again with a grin. "Did I tell you all I shot a mouse with a bebe gun last night?"  
  
The class busted out into a fit of laughter at the dramatic change of subject. As Mr. Black turned toward the class door, shut it, and looked around suspiciously, he started the story.  
  
"Okay, here's how it went down…" he said and gained another laugh from the class. Bella Donna slipped down in her seat and listened to the tale about her teacher completely blowing this mouse's eye out. Even though she didn't particularly like the class, Mr. Black was an awesome teacher. A minute or so after he finished the bell rang and he yelled out his usual 'crack kills' to the class as they left the room and entered the busy hallway. As she made her way down to her locker, Erin popped up beside her suddenly.  
  
"So wat'cha' gonna do since your aunts gone?" she questioned trying to keep all the books in her arms from hitting the floor.  
  
"Well…" Bella started, trying to think of what to say. She couldn't exactly just come out and say, 'Oh nothing. Just break into my aunts lab, keep Charlie from seeing, and taking a phone booth into Kingdom Hearts'. No, that wouldn't go very well. But after all day of arguing with herself, she finally decided to at least tell her friend about the existence of the 'game machine', as she had dubbed it.  
  
The two girls eventually reached Bella's locker, and after struggling to keep all the built up bags and jackets in the small space, they both pushed the door closed and began walking towards the house that currently stored the brilliant device. On the way the taller of the girls began telling the other about the sudden blessing in her life. The other, who was of course Erin, was a girl of about 5' and 5" with unevenly cut brown hair and caramel colored eyes to match. Today the petite girl was sporting one of her usual punk band t-shirts, worn out jeans, and her everyday flip-flops.   
  
"And now we have a portal thingy into Kingdom Hearts…" Bella finished as she closed and locked the door behind them when they stepped into the spacious house. Turning quickly when she heard the belongings of a shocked Erin hit the floor, B.D. arched a brow. In front of her the girls arms began to shake, then her hands, then her shoulders, then her head…until her face burst into the biggest grin Bella had ever seen, and an excited scream echoed from Erin as she dashed passed her toward the 'secret lab'.  
  
"Where is it?! Here?! How do ya open this thing?! MUST…GET…INNNN!!!" She yelled frantically and tried prying the door open. B.D. couldn't help but stand back and watch with amusement as she tried continually.   
  
  
  
"Uh, Erin? Erin? ERIN!!" she screamed trying to get her attention. After another pull, the small girl slipped and landed hard against the wall then slide down on the floor, glaring at the door. She then turned toward the Egyptian and yelled.  
  
"CLEO! Open it NOW!" she begged pathetically. 'Cleo' just shook her head and sat down on her floor next to her friend.  
  
"No, no, no. I don't trust you down there anymore then I trust Charlie. And don't say that you've been down there before, cause I know ya have…but now there's something worth breakin' in down there." she finished before Erin could argue. At that, the sound of a key entering the front door and unlocking followed. Soon after, Charlie bounded in and started down the hall toward the kitchen. When he spotted the two on the floor he stopped short.  
  
"Ummm…is this another one of those girl things?" he questioned, then continued on his way after he got no response. Erin's eyes followed him down the hall.  
  
"Is it just me, or does he act a lot older then he is?" she asked and looked back toward Bella. The girl just shook her head in a 'you don't wanna know' way, then spoke again.  
  
"And now we definitely can't go down there. The possibility of him getting down there is just waaay to much for me to handle."  
  
"But if he wasn't here?"  
  
"I said no anyway."  
  
"But come ooonnnn Cleo! This is the opportunity of a lifetime and your going to let your best friend miss out on it?" she argued and stood up, looking down on her. "Think of all the things I've done for you! Like…like…hooking you up with Sean Cleaver! You had a crush on him forever, and I made you dreams come true." she said with a sighing look on her face and hands under her chin in a cute way.  
  
"He cheated on me with Shelly Bloomburg." Bella deadpanned.  
  
"You are like fighting with a brick wall sometimes ya know!" Erin cried out frustrated and leaned against the cold metal of the lab door. "Let me innnn…."  
  
While watching her friend beg at the door, Bella began feeling guilty. Erin 'was' her best friend after all, and she 'should' be able to get in there at least once. And she didn't really want to go in there alone the first time. Who better to go with her but her best friend? But no, Charlie was here so even if she wanted to…  
  
"Hey Bella, I'm goin' ta Miky's tonight! And don't you call over again sayin' that you're a killer! And I WASN'T SCARED!!" Charlie suddenly yelled from the kitchen, then the sound of the back door slamming sounded. 'Hmm…talk about convenient'.  
  
Before Erin could say anything, Bella Donna was going for the keypad and typing in the right numbers for the door to open. Erin jumped up and down with a goofy grin on her face as she watched the door latch unlock with mechanical cranking sound.  
  
"We're in!" she screeched and pulled the door open before jumping down the stairs. All the equipment was silent in the lab, but at the rate that Erin was going, it would be on in no time. She was currently pushing all the available buttons in her reach.  
  
"Stop, stop, stop! Ya just can't start pushin' buttons! I don't know what half of these things do!" Bella exclaimed trying to pull the smaller girl away from the control panels.   
  
"How do ya turn this thing on? We're not just gonna look at it are we?" the girl complained while making her way over to the phone booth.  
  
"For now, yes, we are just gonna look at it. Until Albie tell me more about it, nobodies going out of this dimension." she finished determinedly and crossed her arms over her chest.  
  
"Uh huh, yeh whatever. Hey what's this do?" Erin's voice sounded before the whirl of the machines echoed through the basement, leaving a stunned girls finger hovering over the big blue button.  
  
"So cool!" she yelled. Bella's head dropped in frustration as the room lit up and the monitor showing the coast line popped to life. She really, really shouldn't have come down here. 'Is that Erin opening the booth? Anyway, this was a very, very bad idea. Who knows what that little ball of energy could do down here? Is that Erin pushing numerous buttons on the key pad? Naw. Why did I let her talk me into this? Well actually I talked myself into this, but…wait, what's that bright light? And where's Erin? And why the hell didn't I pay attention to the other things?!!!?'  
  
B.D.'s eyed darted around the room in frantic search of her little friend. Not under the stairs, not behind the desk, not in the crates, or in the phone booth…anymore. Bella groaned and turned her attention to the monitor, already half certain as to what she would find.  
  
"Damn you Erin!" she yelled when she saw the girl running around on the beach of Destiny Islands. And the girl didn't even have enough sense to get a head set thingy. Not that she knew what one was…but anyway. The girl left standing in the lab couldn't bring her back unless she had a head set on. So the only other possibility was to…  
  
"I swear, when she gets back here…" she said under her breath as she rummaged through the crates in search of the cheesy head set Albie had worn the other day. Besides, no one was on the beach but Erin, so no one of importance would see her in this…thing. And though Bella told herself over and over that she would only stay long enough to grab Erin, while she punched in the buttons on the booth she knew in the back of her mind she wouldn't be able to leave so soon.  
  
"Here goes nothin'." she said and closed her eyes tightly as the light entered the booth. For a few moments, all B.D. could feel was nothing. Complete numbness. The girl would have panicked if not for the next feeling that rushed over her. The soft warmth of something unknown covered her and she let out a small sigh as that heat was replaced by a more humid one. As the light that Bella could make out from behind her eyelids faded, she opened her eyes slowly.  
  
"Oh my…" Bella's sentence was cut short by the call of a gull in the blue skies above her. One of the few shadows cast by the billowing white clouds past across her and the soft sand under her shoes. Reaching down, she scooped a small amount of the warm gritty substance into her hand and let it sift through her fingers and fall back on the ground to join the rest. The sound of rustling leaves and branches brought her attention to the palm trees behind her that were being swayed by the gentle breeze that played across her face and through her hair. The air she breathed in was not that of the smoggy air that floated through the skies back at home, but that of a more rich and untouched place. A hint of moister and the scent of salt drifted through her senses and she closed her eyes, lost in the feeling of this new and amazing place.  
  
However, that calming peace didn't last for long. Not to far off the sound of approaching people quickly caught Bella's attention. 'Wait, where's Erin?' she asked herself. 'Damn that hyperactive thing! She probably went and got herself lost!'   
  
But she didn't have any time to think about that at the moment. The voices where now just around the corner of the Sea Side Shack. Running as fast as she could toward the line of trees, B.D. concealed herself behind one of the huge leaves near the entrance to the Secret Place.  
  
"I'm serious! The beach is haunted Riku! First there was that white woman than that…thing." a boyish voice argued with his still silent companion. Bella's breath caught in her throat. I was them. The 'real' them.  
  
"Sora…come on, I mean just because you saw some strangers doesn't mean the beach is haunted." the silky voice of the older boy replied. At this point B.D. was almost giddy with excitement.  
  
"Hmph, whatever you say Riku. But when you get attacked by that white woman and that…thingy, don't ask me for help!" Sora finished and entered the shack.   
  
"Like you could help even if you wanted to." Riku teased with a grin. A stubborn 'Could too!' came from inside the rickety little building. Bella had to keep reminding herself to breath. She bit her lip and leaned over a little bit to catch a glimpse of the silver haired who was still lingering outside the shack, gazing out to the sea. He was really real. A lump started to form in the smitten girls throat as she looked down at him. She didn't know that any male could look so good in the sun. The way his metallic colored hair reflected the sun rays and caused an almost glowing effect around him made Bella want to melt into a little puddle. And this was only his back. If he did turn around…oh the eyes…A goofy looked spread upon her face as she continued to watch him.   
  
'Just look at 'im down there. Perfect hair, WONDERFUL fashion sense, pale, but not to pale, skin…cute butt…WHOA there old girl!'  
  
Bella shook her head. This was really out of character for her and to say the least, she didn't like it. She decided to herself that it was just the fact that he was a video game character come to life that made him instantly appealing. She shouldn't be fawning over a guy she hadn't even seen the face of. An aggravated sigh came out of her mouth and she ran a hand through her now tangled hair. Shifting her weight from one foot to the other and moving back a little, she looked down when she felt the tug of a loose vine around her shoe. Bending down with minimum noise she tried to detangle herself from the plant, but unfortunately caused more noise than she meant to. Before she knew it, the smooth voice she heard before was directed in her direction.  
  
"Who's that? Who's there?" Riku question while turning his sharp gaze over toward the palms.   
  
"Uh, um…I, ahhh!" Bella Donna started but was cut off by tripping on the offending vines and into the small pool and the bottom of the water fall. Sitting up in the shallow water, B.D. pulled the bit of water plant out of her hair along with the vine from around her foot and threw it with a bit of anger away from her. She sat in the pool with a sour look on her face, and when she finally looked up she saw nothing but two eyes of the same color as the pool she was sitting in.  
  
"You ok?" the teenager less than two feet in front of her asked with a hand outstretched for her to take. The soaked girl reached out and took his gloved hand and looked around her at Destiny Island than back at Riku. With a small laugh she replied with sudden realization of what was really happening.  
  
  
  
"Heh, never better."  
  
***********Rikkkkuuuuuuu!!!!! You little hottie you! Anyway, if you read the little note I left at the top, I told you I would give you an address to a website with some of my drawings. It's http://ctgameinfo.com/fanart/pictures.php?op=list&artist=shape_of_a_shadow and as you guessed, my screen name on that website is shape_of_a_shadow. And while your there, there's a very good KH artist named Horusgoddess and you should really check out her work. And one more thing, if you love me go read the first chapter to another KH fic I started here at fanfiction.net its called Of Books and Blades. It's a pretty original idea for the story if I do say so myself. So go read that and look at my pictures (and leave comments for them if you don't mind) and also for this story…REVIEW!!!!! 


	4. Chapter Four

**************I've returned with a vengeance! Well, maybe not a vengeance, but definitely a need for Kingdom Hearts. I just downloaded one of the trailers to KH2 and I'm so excited that I can barely sit still. As Auntie Albie would say, 'its all so exciting!' Well here's the next chapter, and I'm sure you've all been waiting with baited breath…right.  
  
Chapter Four  
  
The silver haired boy helped pull Bella-Donna to her feet and out of the pool. By this time the tacky helmet was now hanging from her neck and partially filled with water, spilling onto the ground below. Her eyes were still dead locked onto Riku, with not intention of leaving anytime soon. Was he actually smiling at her? Yes, and it brought a crooked grin to B.D.'s drenched face, and her eyes became half lidded. The girl knew that she must have looked pretty stupid standing there with a gaudy helmet hanging from her, and the goofiest gaze on her face, but at the moment she didn't care. All that she cared about was that she was here in Destiny Islands, with Riku, and still holding his hand. Oh, wait.  
  
"Uh, heh. S-sorry about that." she stuttered and let go of his hand quickly. After her hand was free, she fumbled with the helmet until it was rolling away from view. Bringing her blue gaze back to Riku, she couldn't help but swallow the lump that formed in her dry throat.  
  
"I don't think I've seen you around here before. You new?" he questioned with a bit of suspicion in his voice. Bella chuckled lighted and bit her bottom lip with a grin.  
  
"You could say that." she gave a little shrug as she answered. Riku raised a brow at her and sighed as if accepting her answer, thought the gleam of suspicion was still in his eyes.  
  
"Hmm. I'm Riku." he introduced himself and held his hand out to her in greeting.   
  
"Bella-Donna." she stated plainly and shook his hand, this time careful not to latch onto it. B.D. had to fight the urge to say 'Duh, I know who you are!', and luckily that urge was successfully subdued.  
  
"Bella-Donna huh? Well now I know your not from around here. No one on these islands have names like that." he commented with a smirk.  
  
"Uh, I'm trying to figure out if I should take that as a complement or an insult." she mumbled and sent a half smile back at him. At the smirk he gave a light blush flowed onto her face but, much to her relief, Riku didn't make any sign of noticing. He shrugged and turned toward the sea.  
  
"Take it however you want. I think it's a pretty nice name, if that means anything." he said and B.D. smiled to herself. "So, Bella-Donna. What were you doin' sneaking around in the trees?" he asked again with a bit of suspicion. The girl opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say a word the island was filled with the high pitched sound of squealing. A pigs squeal maybe? No…a baboon? Close enough. Soon after the noise a steak of black and light blue rushed around the shack and ran right into Bella-Donna.  
  
"Cleo, I saw Sora! I saw him…in real life! I haven't seen…Riku…yet…" she faded off when her gaze fell on the boy who was currently giving the small girl a strange look. The taller girl pried the shocked one off and let out a sigh before motioning to Riku.  
  
"Erin, this is Riku. Riku, Erin. Oh, and she's the reason I was sneaking around in the bushes." she introduced and explained. The two just stared at each other. Erin was staring at the young man just because…well, he was him. Riku on the other hand was staring at her trying to figure this strange creature out. At first Bella was looking between the two with a bit of jealousy, then the jealousy turned to amusement when she saw the look Riku was giving the other girl.  
  
"Erin…why don't you go look around some more, kay?" she coaxed the shaking girl toward the beach, getting a quick nod in response before the petite girl raced off to the Seaside Shack and up to where Sora was currently resting. Beside her, Riku cleared his throat as they both watched Erin sprint across the bridge.  
  
"When you said you were sneaking around in the bushes because of her…did you mean you were hiding from her?" this question brought a silent laugh from the girl as she turned back to Riku.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
After that day Bella-Donna and her, now more calm, friend Erin returned to the game world almost on a regular basis. In time, Auntie Albie returned home and to B.D.'s surprise, the woman wasn't at all angry with them. In fact it was almost as if she planned on it happening. Go figure. As the days in Destiny Islands turned to weeks, the two girls were introduced to Kairi, Tidus, and Wakka. Of course Bella finally met Sora, who immediately gave her a 'help' look as Erin clung to him.  
  
Unexpectedly Erin had grown attached to Wakka as well as the fourteen year old boy. With Sora she usually just followed him around and clasped to him the entire time, but Wakka on the other hand had some how calmed the savage beast. Bella-Donna would never forget the day he tried to teach her how to play blitz ball. It wasn't that Erin messed up most of the time, it was that Wakka had underestimated her by a large amount. He went pretty easy on her the first go, and that earned him a big lump on the head. The long haired girl guessed it was because of all the hours of playing Final Fantasy X.   
  
While the spunky girl spent her time with Wakka and Sora, Bella-Donna found that Riku wasn't just nice to look at. She finally came to the decision that the game didn't really do his personality justice. She expected a stern, stoic, high and mighty kind of guy, but that was almost the exact opposite. At least when he wasn't competing with Sora. The Riku she came to know was a good listener, intelligent, and funny at times. In fact she found herself spending a huge chunk of her time with the silver haired boy. It wasn't the fact that he was just a video game character that made her want to be around him, it was something else. It wasn't a mindless infatuation like Erin had with Sora, it was just a very welcomed friendship, and as far as Bella-Donna could tell the feeling was mutual.  
  
Nearly almost everyday after school, the two sixteen year olds would head down to the lab and jump right into the phone booth and into the game. Luckily, Auntie Albie had came up with an alternative to the helmets for the girls. Small wrist bands with a dial and a few buttons, almost like a watch. Of course there were times when they forgot the devices and Albie had to go in and bring them back, but that at least told Sora that the beach wasn't haunted.  
  
During all of this, the three females had managed to hide it all from Charlie, and had been able to keep the fact that Destiny Island was just part of a video game from any of the characters. They didn't entirely lie when they said they were from another dimension, but they couldn't bring themselves to spill the whole truth. After all, how would you feel if someone suddenly told you that your whole existence was a game? Bella-Donna was seeing mental breakdowns and violent behavior as a result of that news. Except for the obvious difference, everyone went on with their normal lives. Auntie Albie experimented, Charlie spilled his milk, and Erin and B.D. went to school.  
  
"Who can tell me what a conjunction is?" the English teacher quizzed the class room from her spot at the blackboard. Conjunctions…ugh. Even the mention of the word brought that annoying 'conjunction junction' song to Bella-Donna's head. Turning her gaze to the clock she gave a small groan. It was only 5th period, and the itch to feel the warm island sun on her skin was making her jittery. She hated times like these. Times when she desperately wanted to do something, and wanting it that much just made the time go by slower, and slower, and slower.  
  
B.D.'s blue eyes made their way across the class room and out the window. Greeting her were gray clouds, high winds, and…turquoise eyes? Turquoise eyes, silver hair, and a small smile to be exact. Wait that's not right! Bella's eyes went wide as she finally realized that she wasn't day dreaming, and that outside her class room window Riku was peeking through cautiously. She looked around the room to see if anyone else had spotted him, then turned back to him gesturing wildly for him to get out of sight. After all, she wasn't the only person in the school that liked Kingdom Hearts.  
  
"Bella-Donna, is there a problem?" the teacher turned her attention to the gesturing girl who was mouthing get down.  
  
"Uh…um…" she started and looked back to the window to see that Riku had finally taken the hint and ducked out of sight. She had to think quick. The girl couldn't just let Riku wander around out there, but she couldn't get out of the class for anything. Hell, this teacher wouldn't even let anyone go to the restroom…unless it was an emergency that is. Sucking up her pride, Bella threw a hand over her mouth and made a gagging sound. The teacher immediately motioned her to the door, which she ran out of and down the hall to the front doors. Fortunate for her no one noticed that she ran in the opposite direction of the restrooms. Searching around for the hidden boy, she whispered sharply.  
  
"Riku? Riku where are you?"  
  
"Right here." a voice suddenly answered from behind her, sending Bella-Donna into a startled jump. Turning toward him with a confused a frantic face, B.D. asked him in a calm voice.  
  
"What are you doing here? How did you even get here?!" she questioned. Riku was about to answer when he was pulled back into the bushes by his shirt. Obviously the threat of being seen by either a teacher or a fan girl was getting to Bella.  
  
"I convinced you aunt to let me through. I wanted to see your dimension." he answered like it was no big deal.  
  
"Riku, you can't just roam the streets! Someone might recognize you!" she blurted out before she could stop herself.  
  
"Recognize me? Why would anyone recognize me?" he asked with the same suspicious look he gave her when the first met. Bella-Donna cringed. She knew that it was only a matter of time until Riku would figure it all out, he wasn't stupid.   
  
"That doesn't matter right now. Right now you gotta go back." she shook her head and pushed him out of the bush in the direction of her house.   
  
"When will you be home?" he turned back, still out of sight of any passing staff members.  
  
"In a few hours or so, but right now you gotta go. Watch T.V. or something until I get back." she answered.  
  
"Fine, but you gotta promise that you'll show me around this place later on." he walked backwards while talking to her with a that smirk on his face again.  
  
"I promise." she agreed with a smile back at him. She didn't really want him to go, but she couldn't risk anyone seeing him. That smirk almost broke her, but she snapped out of it and shooed him off. "Now go!"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The day passed and Bella-Donna made her way home with a little bit of a quickness in her step. Maybe it was the fact that her book bag was really heavy and she wanted to get rid of it as fast as possible. Or maybe it was because she knew Riku would be at home. The girl had to shake her head at herself. She wasn't sure how to explain herself anymore. She was pretty sure that she thought of Riku as more then a friend, but then again she didn't really think of him 'that' way. Of course when she told Erin that all she said in return was 'not yet anyway'.  
  
As she grew closer to her house, she could faintly see the form of Erin perched on her porch swinging her legs over the side. A confused look came over her face as she climbed the stairs and looked at the girl who was grinning at her widely.  
  
"How did you get here faster then me?"  
  
"My brother gave me a ride." she answered sliding off the railing and bouncing to the door.  
  
"If you were coming her anyway then why didn't you give me a ride to?" she raised a brow and followed the smaller girl into the house. All she got in response was a sheepish grin and a shrug. Dropping her bag on the floor, Bella began her search for the silver haired boy while the other made a bee line for the basement.  
  
"Bella-Donna! Dear?" a voice called from the dining room. Entering the large area, the said girl leaned against the door frame.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"If your searching for Riku, he went back a few minutes ago. I believe he was going to come back to meet you but…" she started but her voice faded as she started ready her papers again.  
  
"But…?" B.D. urged on. Albie looked up from her work with her eyes narrowed in confusion.  
  
"But what?"  
  
"Riku. He was gonna come back to meet me but…but what?" she let out a frustrated sigh and pulled out a seat next to her dazed aunt.  
  
"Oh, yes. Riku was going to come back to meet you, but it seems he hasn't returned yet."  
  
"That's it? I thought you were gonna tell me something important." Bella let out a bit of a laugh and ran her hand through her hair. "By the way Auntie Albie, did Charlie see Riku?"  
  
"You know, I'm not sure. Even if he did, I doubt he'd make the connection since he doesn't know what's going on yet." Albie waved her hand in a dismissing gesture and went back to her papers. Pulling herself out of her chair, B.D. traveled downstairs where Erin was waiting impatiently. Both girls grabbed for their wrist devices and stepped into the booth. All the while Bella-Donna couldn't help but think that something was wrong. Perhaps it was the thought of Charlie know about all of this that bothered her. It almost scared the girl to think that the boy could have done anything to the game. Everyone on Destiny Island had became close to the girls, and their lives wouldn't be the same without them. In B.D.'s case, Riku's absents would definitely have an impact.  
  
Before the girls knew it, the warm air of the island greeted their skin along with the sound of the sea. This time they appeared on the paopu island out in the crystalline seas. It was strange, almost every time they came they ended up in a different place. Sometimes it would be the pier or the shack, or sometimes the hidden cove where the raft rested, and as long as the game was on this stage, that raft would stay there. Or so they hoped.  
  
"Hey, there's Sora." Erin pointed to the beach in front of the secret cave and started running across the bridge and down the stairs. Close behind but at a slower pace, Bella-Donna followed toying with the edge of her t-shirt. Stepping out onto the beach she inhaled a gulp of fresh air. Though the oxygen was clean, the atmosphere was tainted. Something was wrong.  
  
"Sleepin'?" Erin asked Kairi with a grin as the skirt clad girl approached. She laughed a little and looked down on the sleeping Sora. This moment was ringing a bell in the confines of B.D.'s head and she cleared her dried throat as she stood silently.  
  
"Whoa!" the previously sleeping boy exclaimed, bringing another case of giggles from the girl.  
  
"Gimme a break Kairi." Sora muttered.  
  
"Sora you lazy bum. I knew I'd find you snoozing down here." the fourteen year old girl teased. The feeling of familiarity that Bella-Donna got from this conversation sent her into a fit of quick breaths.  
  
"No! This huge black THING swallowed me up! I couldn't breath, I couldn't--Ow!" he exclaimed.  
  
"Are you still dreaming?" Kairi replied. Suddenly the girl that had accompanied B.D. through the portal looked between the two with startled eyes, and her smile faded.  
  
"It wasn't a dream! Or was it? I dunno. What was that place? So bizarre…"  
  
"Yeah, sure." Kairi walked toward the water and inhaled the salty air, just as B.D. had done.  
  
"Say Kairi, what was your hometown like? You know, where you grew up?"  
  
"I told you before, I don't remember." she gave a small laugh, and the Egyptian girl felt like she was hyperventilating. This couldn't be happening, but it was. The whole conversation right before her eyes, complete with the out of place question about Kairi's hometown.  
  
"Nothing at all?" Sora persisted.  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"You ever wanna go back?"  
  
"Well, I'm happy here."  
  
"Really?" Sora asked, in a bit of a suspicious tone. Nearly like Riku.  
  
"But you know…I wouldn't mind going to see it."  
  
"I'd like to see it too. Along with any other worlds out there. I wanna see 'em all!"  
  
"Then what are we waiting for?" Kairi smiled at the still sitting boy.  
  
"Hey, aren't you guys forgetting about me?" a voice chimed in right on time. There Riku stood, with a log under one arm. Bella attempted to calm her breathing when he glanced over at her with a concerned look, but the game had to go on.  
  
"So, I guess I'm the only one working on the raft." he walked over toward the two other characters and tossed the log to the standing Sora, sending him to the ground again then spoke to Kairi. "And your just as lazy as he is."  
  
"So you noticed, ok we'll finish it together. I'll race you!" the girl laughed and challenged.  
  
"Huh?" was Sora's reply.  
  
"What, are you kidding?" voiced Riku. Before Kairi could yell the racing start Bella broke in.  
  
"Erin, w-we have to go, right?" she quickly asked the panicky girl over near Sora. B.D. shuffled her feet over the sand and grabbed onto the girls arm and reached for her remote, but not before Riku grabbed her wrist.  
  
"Are you alright?" he asked. B.D. was relieved that they could still freely talk, but the genuine concern that glazed Riku's eyes made the reality of what was happening hit harder. Pulling herself together, Bella gave a reassuring smile and a nod.  
  
"Fine, I'm fine. We just have homework to do back home." she lied. As the young man gazed up at her, she could tell that he knew she wasn't telling the truth, and he still held fast to her wrist.  
  
"I'm fine Riku." she stated in a more stable voice. Around them the other two main characters where also giving her worried looks. Finally, though reluctantly, the silver haired boy let go of the older girls wrist, but kept his eyes on her.  
  
"We'll be back tomorrow." B.D. said before taking off with Erin in a close second. Pushing the return buttons on their wrist remotes, the girls could hear the echoing of Kairi's 'Ready? Go!' as they disappeared into the bright light of the portal.  
  
Opening their eyes, Erin and Bella-Donna stared blankly in front of them for quite some time. Blinking her eyes a few times, the taller one moved her gaze over to the game console and quickly closed her eyes again when she spotted the start button on in all its blue glory. Soon after Erin broke out of her trance and dragged the booth door open and plopped down in a chair, an uncharacteristic stoic expression on her face. The other girl followed suit and sat herself down on a stool before resting her elbows on a plastic crate and burying her face in her hands.  
  
"Are we really going back tomorrow?" Erin broke the silence with the timid question. All she received was a loud sigh at first, then Bella-Donna raised her head and looked toward the monitor that showed the live show of Sora going through the task of collecting items for Kairi. At the beginning of this little venture, Albie had explained to B.D. that while a person was inside of the game, they couldn't really get hurt. As in no bleeding, broken bones, or dieing. The worse you could get was a 'game over', but you'd just appear again. It was funny how this whole world seemed so real, yet still held its video game aspects. The information of not getting hurt got Bella thinking. And this thinking brought on an idea, and the idea brought on a conclusion. With a new confidence on her face, Bella-Donna turned her attention back to the other girl.  
  
"Of course we're going back tomorrow."  
  
**********Ohhh, what's Bella-Donna up to huh? Well, I hope you liked this chapter. It seems like it all got going a little fast, but oh well. If you all want, could you read my other Kingdom Hearts story for me? Its called Of Books and Blades. Its not like I'm going to release the hounds on you or anything if you don't, but it would be nice of you. Oh, it would also be nice if after your done reading this if you'd REVIEW!!!! 


	5. Chapter Five

***********Woah, I'm back already? Hmm, I must be on a really big Kingdom Hearts kick…not that I was ever off it. Well, I've got some good ideas for this story, and I just can't wait for months on end again to write them.  
  
Chapter Five  
  
"Charlie?!" Bella-Donna yelled in an angry tone through the house. She figured that the boy knew that what he did was wrong and was hiding out somewhere. A whole night had passed since Erin and B.D. found out about the happenings of the video game, and neither one slept a wink. The fact that today would be the last day that their new found friends would be on Destiny Islands made them very uneasy. Also, the idea that was formulating in Bella's head made both her, and the smaller girl a little on the edge. The Egyptian wasn't sure yet, but she could probably make this still mysterious plan work.  
  
"Albie, do you know where that little fungus is hiding?" she asked quickly when she came across the woman shuffling down the hall.  
  
"Charlie, Charlie." her aunt thought. "I believe I saw him in the library somewhere dear." she answered with a sharp nod.  
  
"Alright, thanks." Bella started off down the hallway toward the large room, but not before Albie stopped her.  
  
"Um, Bella, is there anything wrong by chance?"  
  
"Wrong? Why would anything be wrong Auntie Albie?" the girl stopped and turned back to the woman with a shrug and a small smile. She hadn't exactly told her aunt what had happened down the in basement, but was sure that she would tell her eventually. Eventually.  
  
"Well…alright." the older woman accepted the answer and continued down the hall and to the stairway. B.D. let out a small sigh and raced to the library throwing the door open with a slam.  
  
"Charlie." she plainly stated and closed the door again before stepping quietly through the isles of book cases. Books lay scattered across the carpeted floor in front of her, causing her to stumble a few times.   
  
"Charlie?" she said again before coming to a complete halt and listening. She could hear the sound of Albie bopping round downstairs, the sound of the machines running in the basement where Erin was sleeping, and soft breathing. Holding her own breath she focused her ears as hard as she could, then reached up and yanked her little brother out of his hiding place above her head on a shelf behind some of the ancient books. The boy fell to the floor and looked up at his sister with pleading eyes. In return Bella-Donna sent him a glare and kneeled down to his level.  
  
"You went in the basement yesterday. Didn't you." she stated more then questioned. When she got silence for an answer she continued.  
  
"You talked to that guy, you went in the basement, and you pushed a button. Didn't you Charlie."  
  
"Y-yeah." he let out and sighed at the same time, still avoiding his sisters narrowed eyes. The boy had expected loud yelling, scorning, and hating words, but all he got was his sister plopping down on the floor next to him and leaning against the bookcase with an aggravated sigh.  
  
"You don't know what you've done, do you?"  
  
"All I know is that guy told me that he knew you and that his name was Riku and that he was from Destiny Islands, and then I followed him down in the basement even though I know I'm not suppose to be down there, then I saw the Playstation and, and I pushed the start button when Riku left and some lights flashed…so I ran away." he explained all in one breath. Bella-Donna sat there looking at her brother with understanding eyes. Though he may act like he was older, he was still a kid. Kid's do things that they shouldn't, and she couldn't blame him for being a kid. So, B.D. gave him a small smile before standing and ruffling his hair a bit, then exited the library with a tired look on her face.  
  
The daylight outside was fading at a rate that made her cringe. Tonight was the night. The night when the Heartless would invade Destiny Islands, and all the characters would be thrown into this whole adventure. B.D. found it strange to really call them characters though. She'd come to know them as people, not fictional characters that she could only see on the television screen anymore. As Bella walked up the stairs to her attic room, she glanced out the window at the clean and trim neighborhood. Some younger kids played in their yards while the happy families watched carefully. The elderly sat on their porches just watching the day pass, while the teenagers were out working on their cars. So boring. Actually until she stepped into the world of Kingdom Hearts, the girl had never had thoughts like these toward her neighborhood. Of course being in a video game could kinda alter a persons perspective.  
  
Flopping down on her bed, B.D.'s eyes fell on her night stand where the small pile of island sand now rested, along with all the other items she received from the islanders. A shell necklace from Kairi, a little, uh…thing she got from Selphie, and a pearl. Picking up the little black sphere she tried to think back to where she got it. It wasn't Sora, he was to busy eluding Erin. She was pretty sure it wasn't the Tidus kid, they never got along that well. It could have been Wakka. No…  
  
Ah, now she remembered. At first it was from Wakka, that big nutcase had been following her around for some time. Well, when he wasn't with Erin that is. That's it, he had given it to her about two weeks ago on the beach after he lost to the brown haired girl at blitz. He said he had found it in the shallows, at least that was his story before a certain silver haired boy walked up and interrupted. As it turned out, Wakka had snatched the pearl from the said boy when HE found it in the shallows. After the boy with the odd accent retreated, Riku tossed the black orb back to Bella-Donna, saying that he was gonna give it to some one anyway.  
  
B.D. grumbled at that. She knew that that 'someone' that he was gonna give it to was probably not her, but the infamous Kairi. Sure her and Riku had had some great talks and laughs, but Kairi was…well, Kairi. She had the smile, the laugh, and the good looks. Bella-Donna didn't blame Riku for being completely infatuated with the girl. Even though he would never come out and say it, she could definitely tell. The same was true with Sora, but he was a bit more obvious about it. The goofy looks, and the blushing were true on Sora's part, but the constant competing for the beauties affections went for both the young men. Bella-Donna wasn't completely jealous, after all, she had expected this the moment she met Kairi. It was how the plot went, Sora and Riku love Kairi and both do their best to find her. But now, that plot would come into full play. The start button had been pushed and there was no going back for her friends.  
  
Judging by the time, Bella figured it was time to head back into the phone booth and onto Destiny Islands. Pulling herself up, she made her way through the house and down into the dark basement where Erin was fiddling with an old slinky she found. B.D. wasn't sure what the smaller girl had been doing down there all day, but as long as everything was intact it wasn't that big of a deal.  
  
"We goin' in?" Erin asked turning in her seat.  
  
"We're goin' in."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
It was well into the afternoon on the island when the girls stepped onto the white beach. They looked around for a while, and finally spotting Tidus on the paopu island they knew what stage of the game it was. Quickly, both teenagers ran to the hidden cove's door and swung it open just in time to see Sora and Riku speaking to each other. Walking up behind them Bella-Donna cleared her throat and Erin piped up.  
  
"What'cha doin' guys?" the dark skinned girl shook her head with a grin at how bubbly the petite girl could be even under these circumstances.   
  
"You guys at it again? All right, I'll be the judge. The usual rules apply: Take any route you want... First one to tag that tree and make it back here wins." Kairi suddenly spoke walking across the unstable bridge. The race. Bella-Donna remembered racing Riku over and over again in the game, taking different routes each time to see which was the fastest. So, while Erin chatted with Sora, B.D. snuck over to the silver haired and tugged gently on a pointy lock of his hair. The young mans intense gaze turned toward her and he gave her a grin before she spoke.  
  
"Jump down to the beach by the raft and run through the shallows. Its faster then taking that tower rope thingy." she hinted in a whisper pointing toward the little elevation change beside the tower. Riku gave a nod with the smirk still on his face and sent B.D. a little wink before taking his place beside Sora. The previously speaking girl couldn't help but swallow the tight knot that formed in her throat.  
  
"Um, if I win, I'm captain. And if you win…" Sora started, and B.D.'s face soured a bit when Riku interrupted.  
  
"I get to share the paopu with Kairi."  
  
"Huh?" Sora gave him a strange look.  
  
"Deal? The winner gets to share a paopu with Kairi." Riku began to get in his starting position.  
  
"Wha…wait a minute…"  
  
"Ok, on my count." Kairi started before Sora could say anything else, and the race was on. The three girls watched as both boys jumped over the rickety board in the bridge and continued on to the tower where they had to decide which way to go. B.D. smiled when Riku took her advice and jumped down the embankment to the beach below, while Sora climbed the tower and slid down to the other tower. The girls couldn't see which boy made it to the star first, but the next thing they knew, Riku was running over the bridge at full speed while Sora was stuck wading through the water below.  
  
"Ha, I win. We name the raft Highwind." Riku stated when Sora met him up on the small piece of land, greeting the older boy with an angry face. Riku turned, then Sora walked up behind him with his arms crossed across his chest.  
  
"What? The paopu thing? It was just a joke, you should've seen your face." Riku answered Sora's expression with a smirk, then it quickly faded. "Are you mad or something?"  
  
The younger boy just grumbled and headed off to Kairi who was waiting by the raft. Bella-Donna and Erin had watched all the happenings with a bitter sweetness. It was amazing to watch their favorite game take place right in front of their eyes, but at the same time it was heartbreaking. Every line that came from their friends mouths reminded them that the moment when the door would open was approaching. B.D. nudged her friend and motioned her head toward the running Sora.  
  
"Go with him to get all the stuff and meet me back here later on, alright?" she instructed.  
  
  
  
"Go with him? That means I'll see Ans…" her words were cut off by the other girl throwing her hand over her mouth. Erin nodded and went after the fourteen year old who was now out of sight. B.D. let out a sight and walked up behind Riku who was gazing out over the ocean. For a few minutes the two just stood there in silence while the girl kept trying to move the spare pieces of hair out of her face that had fallen from her heavy hair that was placed in a messy up-do.   
  
"How did you know?" Riku finally broke the silence and asked without moving his eyes to her.  
  
"Know? Know what?" she questioned back with false stupidity.  
  
"You know. About the fastest way. How did you know? You've never been over here." he continued in a serious tone that almost made B.D. nervous. That was one thing the video game didn't mess up on when it came to the real people. Riku could be pretty intimidating when he wanted to be. Bella had to think fast. The fifteen year old was getting close to figuring out that she wasn't just from another dimension, but she couldn't let him know quite yet.  
  
"Well…I. I had just been looking at it while you and Sora talked and I was just being observant…"  
  
"I don't think so." he finally turned toward her with the same suspicious eyes her gave her when they first met. "That ledge could have gone into a never ending hole for all you knew, and you sounded pretty sure about what you were talking about." Bella-Donna just stood there and averted her eyes. Ok, he was getting WAY to suspicious for her liking. She should have been more careful. Just saying something that she shouldn't even know what plain stupid. A shocked expression set over her features when Riku grabbed her firmly but gently by the arms and turned her toward him determinedly.  
  
"Your not telling me something Bella-Donna. How did you know that? And how did you know your way around here so well when you only first came to this island? How did you know about the raft? We didn't even tell Tidus, Wakka, or Selphie about it, but you knew, you asked me about it remember? I talked to Sora and Kairi, they didn't tell you about it, and I'm sure I didn't tell you. So, how did you know Bella-Donna?" he interrogated and tightened his grip on her arms. He wasn't hurting her, but it made her pretty damn nervous.  
  
"I-I…" she started but couldn't find the words. Luckily Sora and Erin walked up and interrupted. The brave little soon to be Keyblade master walked up next to Riku and gave him a hard look when the silver haired boy was still keeping his eyes intently on B.D.  
  
"Everything alright Riku?" he asked boldly and looked to the older girl with a bit of concern in his eyes.  
  
  
  
"Its cool Sora. We're just joking around." she gave a smile and a reassuring nod to both the boy and her friend who was standing near the door. Finally Riku released his grip and let his arms drop to his side before smirking at Sora.  
  
"Yeah, we're just kiddin' around. You got all that stuff for Kairi yet?" he changed the subject while crossing his arms over his broad chest.  
  
"I'm gettin'em right now." the brown haired boy replied and started toward the door again. Pushing the it open, he along with Erin cast one last worried look back toward the duo. When the two disappeared into the other part of the island, B.D. turned toward Riku who already had his sharp eyes locked on her.  
  
"Listen. I know you think I'm hiding something from you…and I am. I just can't tell you. And don't worry, its not something that will hurt anyone. I just can't tell you yet. I will, but only when I find a good way to do it." she tried to explain the best she could with a cringing look on her face. She could still feel Riku studying her, but didn't look his way in fear of seeing angry on his face. It was then that she got the opposite of what she expected.  
  
"I didn't hurt you did I?" Riku asked a bit quietly, almost afraid someone would hear his soft side filtering through.  
  
"No of course not Riku." she answered and gave his arm a soft pat with a half smile. Then something triggered in her mind and her smile disappeared from her face.  
  
"Riku, came you promise me something?"  
  
"Yeah, I guess." he shrugged being completely oblivious to how it would affect the rest of his life.  
  
"If you ever run into a tall green toned woman with horns, a staff, and is dressed in black, and is basically scary beyond all possible reason…Do you promise to stay away from her?" she described receiving an odd look and a stupid grin from Riku.  
  
"Green toned?"  
  
"Look, I know it sounds really, really strange but…" a serious look claimed her face and she grabbed Riku's arms just as he had done to her. "You HAVE to promise me. If you ever see her, you have to run far, far, faaaaar away. Believe me, she's no good, she won't help you, and she's got a lot of pretty bad friends. So, just promise me no matter how stupid is sounds. Promise me Riku." she almost begged and looked him square in the eye to make sure he knew she was serious. He was quiet for a minute then returned her seriousness.  
  
"I promise Bella-Donna."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Sora, are you sure we can't find mushrooms any place else?" Erin whined when they entered the cave hidden behind the vines of the jungle.  
  
"Not as far as I know. Why? Are ya scared?" he teased with a grin at the girl clinging to him.  
  
"No! It just that…is awfully moist in here. I don't want to catch a cold or something." she lied.  
  
"Right." Sora laughed and entered the main cavern of the rock formation, leaving the girl in the entry way staring at the wooden door in front of her. At first Erin thought it would be cool to see Ansem, but now that she was here in the cave…she was having major second thoughts. Looking back at Sora, she noticed him kneeling in front of the cave wall with a small rock in his hand scribbling away at something. Erin walked up next to him and watched him draw the paopu fruit next to Kairi. When she saw that she couldn't help but feel a bit jealous. Then a frozen look came over her face when she glanced back to the door. It was him. She tugged on Sora's shirt, bringing his attention toward her, and thus toward the figure. Erin scampered behind the boy.  
  
"Wh-Who's there?"  
  
"I've come to see the door to this world." a chilling calm voice came from the darkness.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"This world has been connected."  
  
"Wh-What are you talking about?" Sora stuttered, and Erin gripped tightly to his shirt, keeping one eye on the dark corner.  
  
"Tied to the darkness…Soon to be completely eclipsed." the voice hissed.  
  
"Well, whoever you are, stop freaking me out like this. Huh? Wh- Where did you come from?" he demanded.  
  
"You do not yet know what lies beyond the door."   
  
"So, you're from another world!" the boy finally concluded.  
  
"There is so very much to learn. You understand so little."  
  
"Oh, yeah? Well, you'll see. I'm gonna get out and learn what's out there!"  
  
"A meaningless effort. One who knows nothing can understand nothing." the voice said lastly in a dead pan voice. Sora's blue eyes moved to the mysterious door then darted back to the cloaked man, only to find him gone. Behind him, the girl was wide eyes in excitement and fear.  
  
"C-Come on Sora, lets get outta here." she muttered and grabbed the mushrooms from the cave floor before stepping lightly toward the entryway. Behind her Sora nodded and pushed her forward.  
  
"Yeah, I think that would be a good idea."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The group of teens stood on the beach of the small island, most of them about to leave for home in their little boats. None of the islanders could figure out why Bella-Donna and Erin were taking so much time saying bye to everyone, but it seemed important to them. While they watched Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka paddle away, the two other dimension girls couldn't help but wonder where the three would show up after the Heartless bring this world into darkness. The trio waved as the disappeared in the distance, and the two girls turned back toward the remaining people.   
  
"Well, tomorrows the day." Sora said and put his hands behind his head.  
  
"Yep. Its gonna be strange not having you two around ya know." Kairi chimed in and placed a hand on Erin's shoulder. B.D. gave them a small smile and glance around for the missing silver haired boy. She opened her mouth to ask where he was, but was quickly interrupted by Sora wording his new idea.  
  
"Hey, why don't you guys come with us? It'll be great!" he beamed at his idea, and the red haired girl gave a fast agreement. Erin looked up at her friend, her eyes asking what to say. B.D. only gave a slight nod.  
  
"Yeah, it'll be great. Oh, um. Sora, do you know where Riku is?" the Egyptian responded and asked. The spikey haired youth pointed up toward the paopu island where Riku was sitting on is usual tree. As Bella trotted off she could hear the three talk about the good times they would have aboard the raft. It was sad to listen to Kairi and Sora's oblivious behavior. Within a matter of hours his whole island would be falling apart at the seams, throwing each of them in separate directions. They would see different worlds alright, but not they way they planned.  
  
B.D.'s heavy boots sounded heavily on the wooden planks of the bridge that connected the two clumps of lands together. The sun was beginning to set over the liquid horizon covering the islands in a brilliant orange and red blanket. In front of her, Riku lounged on the trunk of the fruit tree, looking up at the sky absently. Pulling herself up on the tree, B.D. sat quietly near Riku's feet in an attempt to capture this moment in her memory. She would have brought a camera, but for some reason the images taken there only came out as a fuzzy gray picture.  
  
"Something's different." the boy mumbled.  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Kairi, Sora, the island. You." he looked down at her with tired eyes.  
  
"Me?" She raised a brow and looked toward him.  
  
"Yeah. Your just different." he shrugged and let out a sigh. Bella-Donna kept her eyes on Riku for a few moments before sliding off the tree and walking to the side of the tiny island.  
  
"I'm really gonna miss it here." she whispered to herself and stuck her hands in her pants pockets. Behind her she could almost see Riku giving her a confused look then hopping off the tree as well. B.D. reached down and rubbed her wrist where the remote was attached. After this happened she wouldn't be able to come back without the Heartless being here. She could always start the whole thing over again. But then…then no one would remember her or Erin. Selphie, Wakka, or Tidus wouldn't. Sora and Kairi wouldn't. Riku wouldn't. Sure they would all be the same people, but not the people they came to know. Letting out a frustrating sigh, Bella-Donna reached back and ruffled her up-do before turning to the silver haired boy who was standing behind her, with the suspected questioning look on his face.  
  
"Riku…" she started and bit her bottom lip. She didn't want to say goodbye, but what else could she do? The Heartless where coming at the island would be destroyed. There was still the idea she had though. She had thought about it all day, and she had gone on and off with thinking it was a good idea or not. As she looked at Riku, she felt the need to tell him what this whole place really was, and how she knew about everything. She wanted to tell him that this would be the last time he would see her, but she couldn't find the words. She didn't want this to be the last time, and she was sure as hell Erin didn't want it to be the last time either judging by the hug fest she was throwing down on the beach. Closing her eyes, B.D. decided that for now she would just say goodbye. If the idea turned good again, she would be back, but for right at that moment she didn't think that Riku needed to know that his entire life was a game. So, sucking up her courage she brought her arms up around Riku and pulled him into an unsuspected hug.  
  
Riku just looked down at her with wide surprised eyes at her sudden show of affection. His eyes shifted around side to side before inhaling a deep breath of air and letting it out in a puff of air on top of Bella's hair. The boys arms slowly rested around the shorter teenager and returned her hug, ignoring his confusion.   
  
"I might not be coming back Riku. Just so ya know." B.D. murmured and pulled away from the embrace. "I just wanted to say bye. I'll leave now." she continued a bit uncomfortably and walked quickly over the bridge.  
  
"Wait! What do ya mean you might no be coming back? Why wouldn't you come back?" he ran up and grabbed her arm, stopping her in her tracks.  
  
"Things are about to happen Riku. Things I can't be here for."  
  
"What things?"  
  
"I can't tell you." she shook her head. It was strange hearing herself say the same thing over and over. Strange, and a little sad. Her attention was brought to the horizon where the sun vanished over the salty waters. "I have to go now Riku."  
  
As fast as she could, Bella-Donna tore her arm from Riku's grasp and headed down the stairs to the beach below. It hurt, a lot. Not physically of course, but the feeling of sea green eyes burning into the back of her head where emotionally painful. In front of her Sora and Kairi were standing with their goodbyes and before they knew it, Erin and B.D. where reaching for the buttons on their wrists. Both took a few minutes to look over the landscape then let their fingers hit the blue gadget. Erin closed her eyes, but Bella kept hers open, wanting to see the fading light of Destiny Islands. Wanting to see Riku before she disappeared, seemingly forever.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Erin was moping, Charlie was sulking, Albie was worried, and Bella-Donna was angry. They had left their precious retreat an hour ago, and had been watching the activities of the occupants of the island on the monitor in the basement. Albie had finally been told about what had happened, and she was a little disappointed, mostly in Charlie. The greatest opportunity that any teenager could get seemed to be gone. It was still there, and they could just start the game over again, but…it wouldn't be the same. It was all hard to explain. So, they all sat around the house in silence, the only sound coming from the machinery in the lab. Erin sat in the living room staring at a blank television, Charlie ate slowly at the kitchen table, Albie tapped a pencil in thought in the library, and B.D. sat alone in the basement, her eyes locked on the monitor.  
  
Her mind drifted back to the time when Auntie Albie first unveiled the machine to her niece. She remembered the phone booth, the paper, the whole lecture Albie gave her about what would happen if the game got started. At that, the idea was brought up again. A person could go in and get out just as easily, even if they were in a different world. Those words echoed in her head. Just as easily even if your in another world. She also remembered the part about not being able to be hurt. You couldn't bleed, bruise or die. The worst you could get was a game over, and you would pop back again in seconds. The same smile that B.D. had the first day she saw the machine spread across her face.  
  
The more she thought about it, the greater this idea seemed. She didn't know why she had negative thoughts about it in the first place. It was perfect, and they could just come back whenever they wanted. They would be actual players in the game.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The two girls hadn't told Charlie or Albie what they were doing, and they didn't feel like they had to. They would be back after this first little challenge was done, and maybe they would tell them then. It was starting to become a joke about how many things they hid from people. None of that mattered at the moment though, all that mattered was the fact that they were back on Destiny Islands. Though it looked like the Heartless had already beaten them there. Above them, a huge ball of energy hovered, bringing the island into a state of panic. The trees shook and the water had waves like they had never seen. Looking around, B.D. raised her voice so that Erin could hear her.  
  
"You stay here and go with Sora! I'll go with Riku!" she pointed up to the paopu island where the said boy was standing in his place.  
  
"You mean separate?! Are you nuts?!"  
  
"Hey, if we stay with them, we're bound to see each other sooner or later right?!" Bella yelled back over the winds. "Besides, we got these!" she motioned toward their wrist controls, which came equipped with a communicator to the other person, along with the people back home. Erin looked nervous, but B.D. put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.   
  
"Hey, it'll be great! Its what we've always wanted right?!" she yelled with a smile then looked out over the waters seeing Sora approaching steadily. "Wait here for him! See ya soon shorty!"  
  
With that Bella-Donna took off for the Seaside Shack, but not before hearing her friend call out 'See ya Cleo!'. The old shack squeaked and groaned under the force of the new winds assaulting it, and the old bridge was no better. B.D. walked with steady steps over the boards toward Riku who was standing there all creepy like, just how she remembered. Swallowing the nervous knot in her chest, Bella stepped up beside Riku and looked up at him with confident eyes. His eyes didn't move, but his strong hand took hers in a tight grasp. The minutes passed and finally Sora called from behind them.  
  
"Where's Kairi? I thought she was with you!" he questioned and looked back and forth between the two with their backs still turned.  
  
"The door…has opened." Riku replied and started facing the younger boy and the girl, bringing B.D. around with him.  
  
"What?" Sora and Erin said in unison. Sora because he was confused, and Erin because she just couldn't hear him.  
  
"The door has opened, Sora! Now we can go to the outside world!"  
  
"What are you talking about? We've gotta find Kairi!" Sora motioned desperately with his hands.  
  
"Kairi's coming with us! Once we step through, we might not be able to come back. We may never see our parents again. There's no turning back. But this may be our only chance. We can't let fear stop us! I'm not afraid of the darkness!" the older boy stated bravely and stood strong with his gloved hand still gripping onto Bella-Donna's.  
  
"Riku." the fourteen year olds voice came out almost childlike when his eyes spotted the swirling mass of darkness beneath his best friends feet.  
  
"Cleo!" Erin broke in and ran up beside Sora, both watching with horror as their friends sunk deeper into the darkness. Slowly Riku raised his hand out to Sora, wanting him to take it. B.D. watched as the chestnut haired boy tried to grab onto the older boys hand, while Erin was trying to pull him back. She heard yelling then felt a cold numbness take over her body when the darkness claimed her vision. She couldn't see or hear anything anymore. The only sign of life she felt was the warmth of Riku's hand still holding her own tightly.  
  
***********Whew, long chapter. I know it all seems a bit rushed, but you just gonna have to deal with it. I'll try to review the next time I can get on my computer, so until then REVIEW!!!!! 


	6. Chapter Six

****************Hey there guys. I'm back with more after reading some of the KH manga. Great stuff there, go and read it at KingdomHearts2.net. That's a great site, it has nearly everything about Kingdom Hearts, KH2, and I think some stuff on Chain of Memories. Also some news on the 'unknown' raincoat from the trailers that you can buy. I know I'm savin' my money!  
  
Chapter Six  
  
Cold, wet, and aching. The three words that popped in Bella-Donnas mind when her eyelids pulled themselves open. Her whole body throbbed in pain; from what, she didn't know. Letting out a small groan, she fully opened her eyes to look upon her new surroundings, or tried to anyway. Her head hurt so much, it was hard to focus on anything at the moment. The one thing she could see though was the blurry outline of a figure on the hard ground next to her. His head was turned toward her, and she could tell that his eyes were still closed in unconsciousness. Flexing her hand a bit she felt her fingertips brush against Riku's still hand which was outstretched next to hers. Finally after a few minutes of collecting her thoughts and her vision, B.D. easily pushed herself up.  
  
"Riku…" her voice came out in a dry, scratchy tone causing her think of much needed water. "Riku?" she said again and shook his body in an attempt to rouse him. She pushed some of the silver locks away from his face and placed a hand in front of his mouth. Still breathing…thank god. In her now clear state of mind, Bella took the time to really check out this new place. During all the times that she played the game, she had always wondered where Riku really ended up. Well, she knew now and it didn't really lift her spirits any.   
  
Around the two teenagers there was the water that B.D. had been craving, but suddenly she felt to sick to even drink. She would recognize this place anywhere. While playing the game, it was one of her favorite places to be. The beautiful crystal waters that flowed up the cliffs gave off an almost peaceful feeling. That is if you didn't look around any further. Glancing toward the pieces of land that floated in mid air above the walkable water below them, Bella-Donna's face cringed. Things were not going as well as she hoped they would. If Riku was going to avoid Maleficent, this place was not a good place to be. Beside her, a small but noticeable voice came from the young mans mouth before his eyes slid open.  
  
"Bella?…" he asked in a stiff, quiet voice. The said girl quickly shuffled over to him and bent down to him.  
  
"I'm right here Riku." B.D. replied and watched as the boy tried to pull himself up. Unfortunately, Riku's stubbornness was no match to the exhausted feeling that rushed over him and he came tumbling back down to the hard ground. Bella-Donna let out a shaky sigh and rested a reassuring hand on Riku's back.  
  
"Just rest for a while Riku, just rest." she mumbled and looked around in comfort when she felt the boys breaths grow steady with sleep. Even though he was right beside her, B.D. couldn't help but feel alone. She knew were Erin was right now. Probably just waking up in that ally in Traverse Town with Pluto staring her down. It would be nice to know that she herself was in a safe place like that little town with only the minor Heartless to worry about, and not in the source of the darkness itself. The one thing that did give her relief was knowing that while they were in this area the dangerous Wyverns or Defenders couldn't get them, as far as she knew anyway.  
  
The silence that flowed passed her ears grew old very quickly. Flopping back on the cold stone she gazed up at the sky. Well, actually she would really call it a sky, it seemed kind of incomplete. The colors shifted over and over again in front of her eyes which caused her to close her eyes with an up coming headache. She hated that feeling of looking at something really beautiful, then all you get back is an aching head. It reminded her of the time she won a hot pink teddy bear at a carnival back home.  
  
Home. She wondered if Auntie Albie realized what she had done yet. Hmm, now that she thought about it, now would be a pretty good time to go back and get a bag of clothes, food, maybe a sharp object or two. Bella let out a small laugh. Knowing Albie, the woman probably had a laser gun stashed somewhere just for this occasion. Shaking her head at the thought of her aunt running around with a gun screaming like Xena, Bella-Donna gently shook the still sleeping Riku.  
  
"Riku, I'm goin' um…somewhere, I'll be back in a few minutes, okay?" she explained, and got a grunt in return. Smirking, she raised her arm to push the button that would lead her home.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Albie? Charlie?" Bella's voice echoed through the presumed empty house. The television was off, papers and empty cereal bowls were left abandoned on the kitchen table, and the only light that illuminated the house was the daylight filtering threw the windows. Thinking for a moment, Charlie had a reason to be gone after all, today was Monday. Auntie Albie, however, was another story. B.D. had expected the scientist to be bopping around the lab, but she was greeted with only the humming of machinery.   
  
The eerie silence continued as she trotted up the steps to the second floor with worried eyes. Her steps became soft as she continued, almost afraid to shatter the deafness. Finally coming to the pull down stair case to her attic room, Bella made her way up grabbing her old corduroy book bag on the way. Dumping the books, pencils, and papers out she turned to go to her dresser but stopped mid stride with a jump.  
  
"Albie?! So this is where you were, I thought you'd fallen off the face of the earth!" she exclaimed with a smile.  
  
"I should say the same to you." the older woman spoke in an unnatural serious tone. She appeared to be the same, she had the same white lab coat, the coke bottle glasses, and the wiry hair, but her eyes held…worry?  
  
"You went back in the game didn't you Bella-Donna." at this question, B.D. cringed. Auntie Albie only called her by her full name when it was important, and the tone of her voice suggested that it was so.  
  
"Yeah, so?" the girl shrugged causally and started taking things out of her drawers and stuffing them into her bag. She averted her eyes, trying to ignore the feeling of Albies steady gaze on her.  
  
"I can not let you go back in there Bella, its not safe."  
  
"What's the big deal Albie? You said yourself that no one could really get hurt in there. I get some bruises, a few scrapes, big whoop." B.D. argued with her back still turned.  
  
"No, Bella. It is a huge deal." Albie continued in a steady voice. "You and that Riku boy…have become very close, have you not?" at this remark the Egyptian turned toward her aunt.  
  
"What does that have to do with anything. We're friends."  
  
"Child, you are becoming closer and closer to him every time you go in there, I've seen it. Now that the game is going to play full circle this 'friendship' could prove to be extremely fatal to you."  
  
"Oh, do tell." the girl rolled her eyes and sat down on her mattress, still cramming various needed items into the pack.  
  
"B.D., if things continue to go the way they are now, you will eventually side with the boy, opposing Erin."  
  
"Hey, Erin's my best friend. It's a video game Albie I'm not stupid, I won't get that caught up." she snapped.  
  
"Oh, is that so? Then tell me Bella, why did you feel compelled to follow Riku into the darkness?" the woman asked while looked down on her niece. Bella-Donna sat staring back blankly. Why did she follow him?  
  
"You see? This is one of the reason's I was hesitant about you going in. My dear, I know what happens to the boy as much as you do. The darkness takes over him and in the end, it eventually leads him into the hands of that awful man. And with you there with him…you won't betray Riku, I know you won't, and that is what worries me." she paused and began to wring her hands together. "B.D., the way you are now, the Heartless will have no effect on you, but as time passes and as you and the boy grow closer you will start to, well…change."  
  
"Change? Unless you mean another puberty you'll have to elaborate." Bella had long since stopped her packing and had given her explaining aunt her full attention.  
  
"Bella-Donna, if your level of involvement continues you will become part of the game." Albie said straight out. After this, the same silence that inhabited the house before her aunt was found spread over them again.  
  
"Involvement? Ha, please Auntie Albie." she shook her head with a fake laugh. In all actuality this news was a bit disturbing to the teen, but she put on a front and continued gathering things in her room.  
  
"Your going to try and change the game aren't you Bella?" the question came as a bit of a shock to B.D., but she only paused before going back downstairs without a word.  
  
"Bella-Donna, you can't change it." Albie followed and spoke on. "No matter how much you want it to happen, the fate of the characters can't change!" she argued.  
  
"Why not?! Its just a game right?!" the girl retorted while pulling food out of the refrigerator.  
  
"The game is set, and there's nothing anyone can do." she started and closed the fridge door from beside B.D. "Sora will overcome the Heartless, Ansem will be destroyed, and Riku will be locked in Kingdom Hearts. You can't change it."  
  
"Yes. I. Can!" the sixteen-year-olds voice raised as she spoke, and for the first time in a long while she felt a small fragment of anger toward her guardian. Swinging the bag over her shoulder, B.D. began making her way back to the lab. However, before she could make it past the door way her aunts voice stopped her.  
  
"This little idea of yours will not, and cannot work. If you even try you will only be guaranteeing your fate as a game character. You'll come involved with too many people and places. Right now your like an immortal there, but when you become part of Kingdom Hearts…You will bleed, you will be fair game to the Heartless, and its almost and absolute that, you will die. If you go through with this…the only protection you will have will be that boy, and he will not stay sane forever Bella. You will choose the side of darkness, and you will turn on Erin, Sora, and in time you might even forget where you really came from. With that you won't know how to get back home anymore. All you will know is how to fight for the darkness." she stopped and shook her head. "You won't even be you anymore."  
  
Leaning against the door frame of the basement, B.D. absorbed all that her aunt told her. Becoming part of Kingdom Hearts. Before she probably would have welcomed the idea, but the image that Albie gave her made fear consume her heart. Not be able to come back? Turn on Erin and Sora? Side with the darkness, with Ansem? The loony woman must have been exaggerating. She would never let it get that out of hand…would she? Though she thought Albie was half crazed most of the time, she knew that the old women knew when to be serious and when to goof around. Looking back over at her aunt Bella-Donna could tell by the look on her face that this was indeed a serious situation..  
  
  
  
"Bella, dear, I know I'm not your parent, so I'm not going to pretend to be," the woman started up again and walked up behind her niece, putting a hand on each of her shoulders. "but, you and Charlie…you two are all this old woman has left. I realize I don't show it much, but I do love both of you and if anything happened to you in there…"  
  
"It wouldn't be your fault Albie, so don't say that." B.D. interrupted. "I gotta do this, I've gone to far now. Besides, my parents had their brushes with danger and I want mine." she turned and raised a hand to stop her aunt from saying anything. "Don't say that I have the rest of my life to work in my dangerous streaks, I don't wanna wait that long." the girl finished with a small grin. It was an odd sight to see either one of the females so caring, but these were things that had to be said. Looking down at her blue eyed relative, Albie shook her head a bit.  
  
"You remind me so much of your father…" she mumbled.  
  
  
  
"Please, Albie, don't start with that again. This moment is corny enough." Bella laughed and made her way down the stairs with a shaking head and her aunt trailing behind.  
  
"Is Erin back with that boy?" Albie asked changing the subject.  
  
"She's in Traverse Town I imagine. I told her to go with Sora."  
  
"You separated!" the scientist burst out. Words of stupidity and ignorance started running through her mind at this news.  
  
"Don't worry Albie, if she stays with Sora like I told her to we're bound to meet up in Traverse Town pretty soon. Really Auntie Albie, I didn't know you were such a worried wart." the teen joked while gathering the rest of the things she needed. The aunt only watched as her niece continued packing her things without a care in the world. Even with the news of these dangers the girl was still determined to go through with it. The woman had to admire the determination of the teen, like she had pointed out earlier she had her fathers will.  
  
"Well," Bella-Donna started as she turned around with her full backpack. "I guess I'm off." her words were almost cheerful but her face told otherwise. She didn't want to leave her aunt worried, but she didn't want to leave Riku stranded in that God forsaken place. So, walking stiffly over to Albie she stared at the woman for a while before quickly throwing her arms around her. It took the scientist a moment to figure out what was going on, but she eventually hugged back.  
  
"Auntie Albie," B.D. mumbled. "I'll be back. I promise."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
A chilling breeze swept over the sleeping boy who was still laying alone on the slab of stone. The waters around him sprayed outwards with the wind, sending light droplets of the moisture onto his still face. His pale features twist in his unconscious state, probably from a dream or a nightmare. With teeth and eyes clenched tightly, the calming silence that surrounded him ruptured as a strong scream escalated from his throat.   
  
Throwing himself sideways and onto his back, Riku let his eyes fall open and he gazed up at the sky with an overwhelmed feeling clutching his body. His breaths came in quick sharpness, but the nightmare he just experienced left him feeling glad he was able to breath at all. In that surreal world he was yelling and yelling at the people who casually walked by him, but during all his shouting not one person turned their head to notice him. Then everything around him turned from light to dark and the people disappeared. In front of him a small light pierced the darkness and he began running for it, but no matter how long or how fast he ran, he could never reach the light. The last thing he knew Riku was calling out for help, pleading for anyone to help him out of this dream world. Then finally a voice came. A voice that seemed almost as miserable and painful as he was. He could tell that sobs were being choked back and the words it spoke were almost a desperate way of soothing both him, and itself. Even though, the voice brought him out of his near weeping sorrow and echoed around him, "Its alright. It'll be alright, it'll be over soon. Its all just a dream…its all just a bad dream…".  
  
"Bella?" Riku said bringing himself out of this thinking. The dream, or nightmare, had definitely left an impact but right now he had something else to deal with. Bella-Donna was nowhere in sight. He vaguely remembered waking up once and seeing her blurred form hovering over him, sending him calming words. After that all he could see or remember were the images from the nightmare. Pulling himself off the ground, stumbling a bit at first, Riku blinked his eyes a few times before taking in his surroundings. Water. Lots of cold water. Instantly he made a mad dash for the cliff to gather the liquid his dry throat called out for, but he came to a screeching halt. Water flowing up, instead of down? A gloved hand reached out and brushed against the backwards water fall, causing the water to split and splatter in the air.   
  
"W-Where am I?" he muttered to himself as he turned back to the pieces of land that seemed to be defying gravity. Obviously B.D. wasn't here, but Riku didn't think that she would just wonder off. He felt as if he should stay there and wait for her to come back from…wherever she went, but then again…It was like something was pulling the silver haired boy up those rocky clumps and onto that odd lift. The pull only got stronger as the twisted castle loomed over him, casting a menacing shadow over the wide eyed boy.  
  
How was he to know that the missing girl was left back on the rocks watching him being lifted up to the towers? He couldn't have known the hallways that he walked down, the staircases that he took, and the electronic lifts he rode would lead him to a room in which decisions would be made, and his life changed. Riku couldn't have know that even though he had no knowledge of it yet, he was breaking a promise he made to a certain someone.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
As the rusted lift made its way back down to Bella-Donnas level, her face drooped and paled. Everything was going all wrong. Maleficent, Jafar, Hades, Oogy Boogy, Ursula, Captain Hook, and possibly even Ansem himself was in there. Whether Riku knew it or not, he had just entered the lions den smelling of fresh meat. B.D. knew that he wouldn't fall prey to the Heartless during his wanderings so, all she had to do was find him before Maleficent did. That was easier said then done of course. The contraption below her shook as she stepped aboard and her legs grew wobbly when the force that powered it started to pull her upwards to Hollow Bastion.  
  
Her nerves were put at rest for a time when she saw the outside walkways of the castle were deserted of any life, including the Heartless. She knew that she was invulnerable from their 'heart stealing' powers, but the whole idea of coming face to face with one still made he a little nervous. With that idea, she thought again of what her aunt had told her. Becoming part of Kingdom Hearts. Being able to die like any other person in here that wasn't immortal. Giving in to the darkness…that thought just made her angry. While playing the game and seeing Riku trust in the darkness so much and believing that sorceress' lies made her want to yell at the television, which at times she did. Even the mere inkling of herself falling into that trap angered her to no extent. This was no place to have a scattered mind though, in no time at all she was walking through the doors of the Entrance Hall.  
  
The circular room sent a chill through the teens body and the music that kept playing in her head didn't help with the creep factor. She kept thinking back to all the times she would hum the theme of Hollow Bastion in school or during breakfast. Now she wished she didn't remember it. Bella's footsteps echoed off the walls adding to the soft sound of the water running from the fountain in front of her. Pulling her backpack further up onto her shoulders, she dashed up the stairs and through the narrow hall that led to the lift shop. It was strange how it was open now, but when Sora reached this stage of the game everything was locked up and complicated. Typical. Speaking of complicated, now was when B.D. really had to remember her gaming skills. It was real easy to go the wrong way on these lifts, or threw a wrong door in some of the other room.  
  
Transporting from that small balcony type thing to the lift was much like the sensation one felt when going back and forth from the real world to the game, so it really wasn't anything knew to her. Her first encounter with a Heartless was though. She had been searching in peace for a good ten minutes, that is until she was entering the lift shop for what seemed like the hundredth time. The exact location of where she was she wasn't sure of, but she was fairly certain it was near the crest where the Wyverns seemed to be in an abundance. At first it started with a small whirring sound behind her that caught her attention, then clicks and clatters greeted her ears. Before she knew it, she had a Heartless Soldier running after her followed by two or three Wizards. Her adventurous side told her to stay and study them after all, they couldn't hurt her, but her natural instincts kicked in quicker and she high tailed it for the safety of the lift shop.  
  
Safety, right. Shadows, lots and lots of Shadows. Oh, and a Defender to top it all off with. There they all stood, the only things between her and that dreadful Chapel, the only place she hadn't looked yet. Well, if there was any time to test Auntie Albies' theories, it would be now. Sucking up all the courage she had left, Bella-Donna waded into the ocean of ink black creatures and past the chomping Defender shield. She could almost feel the claws of the Heartless ripping through her and the teeth of the shield tearing her flesh to bits. She could also feel…nothing. Opening her previously closed eyes, B.D. glanced around to notice the devious creatures to be no where in sight. Albie had been right after all and, with hope restored, Bella strutted through the dark doorway not really giving any thought as to what room she was about to enter.  
  
A smooth, carpeted hall lay before her, lit by peculiar green torches hanging from the stone walls. Wait, carpet, green fire…  
  
"That little squirt took down that Heartless! Who'd have thought it?"  
  
Oh no.  
  
"Such is the power of the Keyblade. The child's strength is not his own." a slick voice added in. Then a stronger, though more feminine voice joined in.  
  
"Why don't we turn him into a Heartless? Ah ha! That'll settle things quick enough." These voices were way to familiar for Bella-Donna's liking and she slunk into the shadows between the torches only to have another startle. Crouched down near the floor, Riku sat listening intently to the conversation between the villains. B.D.'s approaching brought his attention to her though, causing him to almost say her name. Panic rose in the girls body and she dove to cover his mouth. Placing a finger to her lips motioning for complete silence, he as well as herself turned their heads back to the conspiracy talk.  
  
"And the brats friends are the Kings lackey's." Hooks voice bellowed. "Swaggle me eyes! They're all bilge rats by the look of them."  
  
"Your no prize yourself!" another, more street like voice laughed  
  
"Shut up!" Hook replied and lunged toward the bug filled nightmare man.  
  
"Enough." a new cooler voice slid in along with a new figure from the darkness. B.D. new this voice and inhaled sharply. At this Riku looked back at his friend with concerned eyes. It didn't take the young man long to make the connection between this speaking figure an the description of the person Bella gave that day on Destiny Islands. For a split second his ocean eyes met with her icy Egyptian ones and as the velvet voice continued, Bella-Donna could feel Riku grab onto her hand comfortingly.  
  
"The Keyblade has chosen him. Will it be he who conquers the darkness? Or with the darkness swallow him? Either way he could be quiet useful." a sinister smile slithered across the terrifying, yet graceful face of Maleficent as she finished. With that smile and those words, Bella-Donna only had one thought. 'Here we go.'  
  
****************Phew, done. Well this is where the story begins and really starts to get interesting. I have some plans for our little characters…MUAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Whoa there, I've been hanging around ol' Maleficent to much. Anywho, your know what to do. Oh no, I'm speaking in rhyme! Just REVIEW DAMNIT!!!!!! 


	7. Chapter Seven

***********Well hello all you wonderful people! I'm back with a new chapter…obviously. In this chapter we'll get to see what's happening with out dear Sora and Erin, and we shall also see if Riku and Bella-Donna will be found by that maleficent…uh, Maleficent. So exciting! Right…anyway, here ya go.  
  
Chapter Seven  
  
"Sit down! Your drivin' us all crazy!" yelled the duck wizard from behind the still hyped up girl.  
  
"I can't help it! I'm on a Gummi Ship! A real live Gummi Ship! Its too much to stand!" Erin squealed and bounced up and down, her wide eyes still exploring over every nook and cranny in the cockpit.   
  
"Sora! You brought her, you calm her down!" Donald demanded pointing to the spiky haired youth before turning his attention back to the open space in front of them. Running both hands down his face, said boy walked over to the enthusiastic girl an tapped her on the shoulder.  
  
"Uh, Erin. Hi, Erin?" he said in a loud voice in an attempt to gain the girls attention. "Erin!" he finally yelled grabbing the female by the shoulders when her jumping wouldn't cease.  
  
"Yeah?" Erin's voice suddenly formed into a calm, innocent tone and she tilted her head at Sora's desperate face. Shaking his head, the Key bearer pushed his companion into one of the seats and looked her square in the eye.  
  
"Erin, I need you to sit and be calm. Alright?" he finished with a smile and sat down in the seat next to her, a content sigh escaping his lips. Sora was all for fun and mischief, but this girl never stopped!  
  
All were showing signs of being exhausted by the time the girl finally nodded off. Sora wasn't quite sure what to make of this being the Key master thing. He knew he had to find Riku, Kairi, and Bella-Donna, but now he found out he had to save all the worlds. According to Leon, Yuffie, and Arieth in Traverse Town, he was everyone's only hope to restore order. Between loosing his island and friends, winding up in another world, and finding out he's the Keyblade master, Sora was pretty beat. After all, he was only fourteen years old.   
  
"Gwarsh, what's that down there?" Goofy suddenly exclaimed from the seat in front of Sora.  
  
"What? Where?" the chestnut haired boy said sitting up and gazed out the window. There, like a pink blotch in the middle of ink, a strange world came into view.   
  
"Ah! Its Wonderland, Sora! Its really Wonderland!" the cheerful, and clearly awake, voice of Erin piped in. The brown haired girl climbed up closer to the window and gazed out in amazement.  
  
"Wait. Wait a second. How do you know what that is?" Sora asked scratching the back of his head. Before they had been forced to leave their peaceful island, Riku had told Sora of his suspicious surrounding the two girls. 'They know to much', he had said. 'They're not telling us something' was another. Now Sora wasn't as quick to pick up on all of this as Riku, the naturally suspicious one was, but with every hour that passed he began to take in what his best friend had said.  
  
In Traverse Town, Erin acted as if she had been there before and had encounter all that came up on them. Sora swore he even heard her let out a girlish giggle when Leon appeared on the scene. But when asked, he only got a wide eyed look and a clamped down mouth. Another odd incident was when that thing, that Heartless, attacked them in the Third District. The petite girl stayed safely, or as safe as she could get in that situation, on the sidelines and called out to Sora when to run and when to attack. Donald and Goofy seemed to ignore her advice, but in the end it brought Sora to win the battle.  
  
Shaking his head and sighing in thought, the boy decided to sit back and watch for anymore occurrences that would lead him to believe she was 'hiding' something. The new world grew larger and larger as they approached, the odd shaped bushes and the heart like décor coming in more clearly. Resting his head on the wall of the cockpit, Sora couldn't help but think what happened to Bella-Donna and his best friends. Were they alive? Were they in another world? Did they have Kairi with them? Turning his blue gaze back to the girl he noticed that she didn't seem to worried about their friends. Yet another piece in the mystery of the two girls.  
  
"We're landing, we're landing, we're…" Erin went on then faded off as the ship started tumbling around. Clenching her jaw, she grabbed onto Sora and Goofy's arms in a death grip as the Gummi Ship skidded to a halt causing the door to fling open and pour them out in a mess of arms and legs.  
  
Down, down, down the four fell, meeting the hard pink floor with a crunch. Donald ended up on the bottom, unfortunate for him, topped by Sora and Erin. A few seconds later, Goofy fell in front of them with a loud thud.  
  
"What a ride!" the girl called out excitedly pulling herself from the pile with a child like grin on her face. "Ya wanna go again?" she asked Sora, who in turn snorted ad laughed in amusement. Confusing she may be, but entertaining nonetheless.  
  
"Where are we?" Donald interrupted the moment of fun. At this question, all heads turned toward Erin in an expecting manner. From her sprawled out spot on the floor, she just looked at them all with wide innocent eyes that a puppy would give after tearing up a paycheck. Opening her mouth to answer, she quickly closed it and blinked in relief as a panicky rabbit stumbled through.  
  
"Oh, my fur and whiskers! I'm late, I'm late, I'm late! Oh, dear, oh dear, oh dear! I'm here, I should be there. I'm late, I'm late, I'm late! The queen, she'll have my head for sure!" he rambled on a disappeared around the corner of the hallway leaving the four on the floor staring with strange expressions. All standing, they followed on down the hall after the white rabbit. They hadn't made it five steps when Erin once again called out in her excited voice.  
  
"My shoe! Where's my shoe?" Everyone looked back and then down at her bare foot then back over to her other which was still housed in the flip-flop. Sora shrugged, Donald rolled his eyes and tapped his foot, and Goofy put a hand over his eyes in a searching way and bent down looking over the floor.  
  
"Forget about the shoe! We gotta find King Mickey!" the duck yelled and turned back to the door the rabbit when through.  
  
"We'll find it later. Come on." Sora agreed and walked through the door, gesturing back to Erin with a grin. When he disappeared into the next room, Erin rolled her eyes and slumped her shoulders. This was all bad and wrong. They were all starting to just count on her knowing everything. Well, she did know everything about the game and where they were, but they weren't suppose to know that! Running her hands through her hair fiercely, she looked up at the ceiling of the hallway.  
  
"Cleo's gonna kill me."  
  
****************  
  
A cold wind whipped across the two teens faces and lashed their hair every which way. The boy rested his elbow on one of the many pipes that wound through the castle that gave them this temporary hiding place near a doorway to the lift shop on a high balcony. Beside him sat a girl who was constantly trying to keep her hair from getting in her mouth while she breathed shallowly. She had barely spoken a word since they snuck out of the odd room full of even more odd people. When he questioned her well being, she just gave him one of those reassuring smiles she seemed to be giving a lot lately and said she was fine, just a little spooked. Her face may have looked sincere, but those pale blue eyes told otherwise.  
  
Bella-Donna wasn't just spooked, she was paranoid. At every corner they came to on the escape she went first, even when he tried to be a 'manly man' and take lead. She was hiding something…again. Either that or she was trying to keep him from something or another. He just couldn't tell with her anymore. On top of all that, he knew that something else was plaguing her mind. But once again, she only said not to worry.  
  
"Bella?" Riku asked quietly turning his aqua gaze toward her.  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"Are you…uh…" he paused. He didn't want to sound like a broken record. She had made it clear that she wasn't going to tell him anything until she was good and ready. But he had gotten her attention, so he had to asked something. "Uh…do you have anything to eat?"  
  
"Yeah, here." she answered with humor in her voice. Tossing him an apple, she leaned back against the cold stone wall of Hollow Bastion. With her skull against the wall, she could feel the vibrations of the electric lift shop inside. Woven into those sounds was another, more scraping like sound. Quirking a brow she raises her head and turned it to press her ear against the castle.  
  
"What is it?" Riku asked with a mouth full of apple. B.D. put a finger up to silence him and closed her eyes in concentration. Scrambling, clawing, and dragging sounds echoed through the wall and into her ear. Pulling her ear away, she looks around with a bit of desperation in her eyes. Both boy and girls attention was brought toward the direction of the doorway when the sounds that Bella had previously heard rang out loud and clear. Something, or even worse, a lot of something's were coming.  
  
"Get on the lift!" Bella-Donna whisper screamed at Riku and grabbed her bag. Creeping around the corner, she pushed Riku back behind her ignoring the glare he was giving. Peeking cautiously around the corner, she grabbed onto his wrist and pulled him toward the single carrier on the other side of the door. Touching the nifty gizmo that transported them onto the clattering machinery, her eyes shot back quickly as a surge of Heartless poured from the Lift Shop.   
  
"Damn!" she heard the boy exclaim and turned back toward him to find a Shadow tearing its way up his leg. Riku pulled at it with both hands, but the nasty little thing held on tight as the lift moved them around the castle. It only took B.D. a few seconds to respond, but in those few seconds, paragraphs ran through her mind.  
  
'Maleficent doesn't know about him yet. The Heartless could take his heart.' Thoughts like these brought her to realize that even though she was trying to protect him from the evil that dwelled in the building, she was also risking his life even more. Without Maleficents protection, he was fair game for the darkness. There wasn't time for that now though, right now she had to consider her 'immortality'.   
  
Dropping down to her knees she grabbed onto the Shadow and yanked away his sharp claws from Riku's leg. Yellow eyes turned on her before the creature lunged and dug its hand into the girls chest, a small circle of red magic surrounding his buried claw.  
  
Riku froze in his place on the floor of the lift, staring at the scene before him with wide eyes. Bella-Donnas eyes gapped open and her throat tightened as the little claw shifted in her chest. In the back of her mind she praying to every holy being she knew that Auntie Albie was right about her immortality in the game. She wasn't ready to die yet…especially like this. Behind the Shadow, B.D. could see her companion pulling desperately at the jerky creature, but it wouldn't budge. Tilting her head down, she meet the beady little yellow orbs as it stared up at her. While playing the game, she could never read the Shadows expressions…mainly because they didn't have any. But now as she looked down on it, she could see confusion.  
  
The thing was confused as to why it couldn't take her heart. It stared up at her for probably two whole minutes as if searching for something that it could not find. The whole time Riku had been struggling to free her of the Shadow. If B.D. hadn't been preoccupied with the claw in her chest, she would have smiled at the nice gesture.  
  
"Bella-Donna!" the silver haired yelled before the creature ripped its claw from her chest sending her forward onto the cool steel floor. Looking up with dazed eyes, she saw it dive over the railing of the lift then felt herself being turned over then being pushed up. Her vision swirled and the soothing voice of Riku was hardly noticeable over the loud buzzing in her head.  
  
"Bella, Bella! Come on, can you hear me?" he said while holding her up with one hand on her back while lightly slapping her on the cheek with the other. Tilting her head up he shook her chin and looked down on her with an uncharacteristic look in his eyes. Even in her dazed state of mind B.D. could almost make out a spark of…worry?  
  
"Yeah…I can…hear you." her mouth moved slower then she thought it would and she closed her eyes in a heavy blink trying to coordinate herself. In an attempt to chase the dancing colors away, she shook her head and raised a hand to her chest. A strange unnatural tingle remained where the claw had penetrated, but no difference was noticeable. Her shirt was still intact and no blood was seeping from any wound whatsoever.   
  
"What the hell Bella-Donna…" she heard Riku whisper from behind her. Pushing away from him she crawled over to her bag and slung it over her shoulder as the lift came to a rattling halt. The same sensation that she felt while going back and forth between her world and this one came over her as they were both brought of the machine and onto one of the many platforms that surrounded Hollow Bastion. The boy was left sitting on the ground and B.D. just looked down at him. His face told her immediately that he needed answers, no he wanted them, and he wanted them NOW.  
  
"We should keep on goin' Riku. They're pretty relentless little buggers." she smiled trying to lighten the mood with no avail. Letting her smile fade she tapped her arms on her sides and slowly turns and starts walking toward yet another lift.  
  
"Bella-Donna." the boys voice of concern had molded into a stern demanding one that caused said girl to stop in her tracks. She heard the scuffling of shoe and clothing as he stood to full height and walked up behind her. Wringing her hands in front of herself she then turned and almost winced at the seriousness of his expression. It reminded her much of the time when she told him of the fastest way to go during Sora and his race on Destiny Islands and he confronted her afterwards.   
  
"I know that you think whatever your hiding from me should be kept hidden, but you have to keep me out of complete darkness. You gotta tell me what happened there." he said and gestured toward the lift. B.D. bit her lip when he said the 'keep me out of complete darkness' comment. Oh, if only he knew.  
  
"I saw that, that, THINGS sharp little hand go right into you Bella! I saw your face, it was like you were stabbed, but…" he lightly pushed on her chest where the wound should have been located. "but there's nothing. No blood, no hole, not even a scratch. But it was right here Bella! It was right at your heart; you should be dead. You had me thinkin' I was gonna have ta go back telling Erin and your aunt that I got you killed…"  
  
"Riku you didn't…" she finally spoke after moments of silence. Here in front of her she had the boy that she thought was the tough guy. The guy who just shrugs it off and goes on with the day. Here that guy was blaming himself for something that wasn't even close to being his fault.  
  
"No…just listen okay?" he rubbed his hand over his face then through his hair before looking back at her with almost pleading eyes. What the… "Bella, I have no idea where I am. I don't know what those things are, I don't know what your keeping me from or what your keeping from me, I don't know what happened to my island or my friends…I'm tired, I'm lost, and still a little on the edge from your near death experience back there. Which by the way, your acting just fine about!" he raised his voice during the last words and turned from B.D. who still had an expression as blank as a clean sheet of paper. Rolling his shoulders seemingly trying to calm himself down, he stomped back in front of her and firmly grabbed her shoulders from the second time since she'd known him. This time, however, was different then the last time he demanded something of her.  
  
"Which means, Bella-Donna, that you can't go around doing that anymore. You CANNOT strand me here. Alright?" looking her square in the eyes with his partly narrowed oceanic orbs. Those lovely eyes were concentrated like he was trying to get something across and hoping she'd catch it…cause if she didn't, hell, he'd never say it out loud. In the back of her mind she was hoping that he meant 'don't die on me, I need you', other then 'I need you here to avert their attention'. Judging by the island boys attitude, she would never know unless he went through one of those 'get in touch with your emotions' type scenario.   
  
"I won't strand you here Riku." she agreed softly and nodded her head, assuring him. 'How did he ever make it on his own during the game?' she couldn't help asking herself. Giving him a small smile she took in the scene. Alone on a balcony under a slightly dimming sky…Riku holding her by the shoulders and looking her in the eyes. She'd read the fan fictions…she knew what would usually come next. However, this was no fan fiction as Riku proved and dropped his hands back to his sides. Returning her nod, he walked passed her and toward the lift she had her eye on.   
  
Shaking off the fantasy of the fiction she halfway turned to follow him before she was stopped by another, more terrifying sound then the noises the scurrying Heartless provided.  
  
"Well…what do we have here?"  
  
Maleficent.   
  
***********Hehe, sorry about the hit at some other fan fictions…couldn't help myself. Well, there's the chapter as promised. Not to exciting, not to boring, just right…like cream soda. Or whatever…REVIEW!!!! 


	8. Chapter Eight

**:::::::::: Hello you pretty little people. I'm back with another chapter. Sorry I had to leave you hangin' with the appearance of Maleficent and all, but I do love those cliff hangers. And I know you all do too…even if it takes five therapy sessions for you to realize it. Now, lets all sit down and read the story. If you leave a good review I'll give you a cookie!**

Chapter Eight

Books were the only thing that kept Bella-Donna from gazing upon the two as they conversed. Leaving Riku completely alone with Maleficent was absolutely out of the question, although she did tell the menacing woman that she would let them talk. It may have not been wise to eavesdrop on one of the top enemies of the game, but B.D. was a teenager…she wasn't suppose to be wise.  
  
So far all she was able to make out from the conversation was something about Sora, which was expected, who Riku was looking for, once again expected, and herself. Now that wasn't expected. If she hadn't known better, Maleficent knew more about her then she was comfortable with. If the black clad woman found out she was from another dimension and had this 'immortality' toward the Heartless…well, lets just say Bella Donna was sure that couldn't bring anything good her way.  
  
"Think about it. This is a rare offer. It would be a pity to pass it up." Maleficents slick voice carried over the book cases and into the girls ears. Along with that, the sound of the woman's sharp footsteps and dragging clothes came to her attention. B.D.'s eyes widened and she quickly took off through the maze which was the library. It wouldn't do to get caught by the head villain of Disney characters. Skidding through the doorway, she ran down the steps and swiftly sat down on the ledge of the fountain in the Entrance Hall. Pushing her now loose hair out of her face, she tried to calm her breath as the sorceress descended the stairway.   
  
She was even more intimidating up close. Her skin was pale and had a sickly, almost reptilian green to it. If you ignored the tone of her skin, her sharp features made her attractive. But the venomous gleam in her eye made you think otherwise. The horn type objects protruded from her head and gave her an air of imperialness. A vicious imperialness. Her long fingers were wrapped around her staff, which made a soft thump of the floor every time she took a step. As Maleficent stepped down to the level of Bella-Donna, she looked over at the girl with narrowed eyes.  
  
"I don't know who or what you are, girl, but I will give you a fair warning. Stay away from the boy." she spat out in a harsh tone and slowly glided over to the exit and disappeared out into the now dark outside world.  
  
Those words were simple, yet they brought a cool shiver from B.D. The woman was dangerous, and she had no problem letting her know about it. She also had no problem letting the Egyptian know that she knew of her odd placing. The villain knew she didn't belong there. Or anywhere for that matter. That was a bad sign, but right now she couldn't worry about that. Pushing herself off the ledge, Bella picked up her book bag and climbed up the stairs and walked through the twists and turns of the library once again until she reached the stairwell to the second level of the room.  
  
"She said she could help me." Riku's voice filled the quiet void. "Could help me find Kairi." he finished from his standing point on the stairs. Silver strands of hair covered his face as he looked out the window, leaning on the banister lightly. He was turned from B.D., his arms crossed tightly over his chest in thought. Looking up at him, the girl bit her bottom lip. He really wanted to find Kairi, just like in the game. But if he took up Maleficents offer, he would be in even more danger then he was now. But if he didn't take the offer, he would be fair game for the Heartless. Ah, this was just all so confusing!  
  
"I want to get Kairi back, Bella. I want everything to be the same as it used to be." Riku interrupted her thoughts and turned his head toward her.  
  
"I know you do Riku. But…" B.D. shook her head. To hell with being nice about it, he needed to know the truth. He needed to know why he shouldn't take the deal. "But Maleficent won't help you at all. She might say she will, but in the end, she won't."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"I mean," she stomped up the stairs and stood in front of the boy, "she won't do anything but hurt you. You may get Kairi back, but the cost will be way, way to high! And I highly doubt Kairi would want you to, ya know, get all messed up just to save her." the girl mumbled the last.  
  
"Messed up? How would I get messed up?" he asked with a quirked brow. Bella shook her head.  
  
"That doesn't matter. What does matter is that you don't go with Maleficent. Nothing will be the same with her help, in fact it will just be a whole lot worse!" she exclaimed and threw her arms in the air for emphasis.  
  
"And why should I trust you more than her? You haven't exactly proved to be a very honest person Bella." Riku shot back. The girl ignored him and grabbed his shoulders tightly while looking straight in his eyes.  
  
"You promised me Riku. Back on Destiny Islands, you promised me that you would stay away from the tall green toned woman with horns, a staff, and thats dressed in black, and is basically scary beyond all possible reason. Well now that woman is here and she's a real threat. Riku, if you just say no to her, not take the deal, I promise I'll tell you everything that I've been hiding from you. Please…will you keep your promise or not?"  
  
After the little convincing speech, Riku just looked at her. His eyes that were only a moment ago filled with anger and suspicion, were now over flowing with guilt. He did promise her. He remembered the sincere look in her eyes as she asked him to promise her all those days ago. Looking at her now, he found the same sincerity mixed in with a tad bit of fear. She was afraid of this Maleficent woman and what she could do. But she could help him, help him find Kairi and at the moment that's all that mattered.  
  
His eyes told Bella-Donna all that she needed to know. He wanted Kairi back. And he was willing to endanger himself to do it. He was a committed friend…or whatever he was to Kairi. Once again B.D. felt the sharp pang of jealousy rip through her. Shaking it off, she turned from Riku and looked out the window. This wasn't how things were suppose to go. She was suppose to keep Riku from even meeting Maleficent, but as Auntie Albie said, the game seemed to be refusing to be changed. Riku met the sorceress, she gave her proposal, and he was going to take it. Nothing she could do would change the stubborn look on her friends face.  
  
"Alright…" she sighed and turned back around. "If you really want to find Kairi, I can't stop you." a bitterness shown on her face as she spoke. This wasn't going to be the only promise broken in this little adventure. The silver haired smiled and nodded his head in satisfaction, and slowly faded as he watched the girl tap her fingers in an almost aggressive manner on the railing.   
  
"Stay with me?" Riku asked with a half smile on his face. Bella-Donna stared at him with an unreadable face. He wasn't alone now, he didn't need her around now that he had Maleficents help. So why was he asking her to stay anyway? Guilt of breaking the promise? Or maybe he just needed a friendly face. Who knows. B.D. didn't. Sending him a crooked smile and shrugging one shoulder the girl answered.  
  
"Where else am I gonna go?"

* * *

"I can't believe that stupid Heartless had my flip-flop. I mean, really, what would a Big Body want with a shoe?" Erin rambled on as she followed beside Sora, slipping on her shoe as they walked. The chestnut haired boy just gave a big smile and shook his head. Even after nearly being torn apart by twenty some Shadows, the girl still amused him to no end.  
  
"Yeah, yeah. Now where's that cat?" Donald squawked from up front. As they entered the Bizarre Room once more, Erin raced ahead and pointed up to the table.  
  
"There, there he is!" she pointed and looked back at Sora and the others.  
  
"You'll have a better view from higher up." the Cheshire Cat called down from his relaxed position on the table top.  
  
"Let's go!" the Keyblade master yelled and they all raced toward the furniture. Sora still had to help Erin with the jumping a little. She just couldn't get used to being able to jump about five feet in the air. Finally, she stumbled up onto the table with the males and looked toward the cat. She had to hold back a smile. Erin could never resist a kitty. The pink feline stood and pranced around in a taunting manner.  
  
"The shadows should be here soon. Are you prepared for the worst? If not, too bad!" with that he pointed up just in time for the hero's to see the herky jerky Trickmaster jump over them and then uncoil beside the table. Sora hopped into fighting stance as did Donald and Goofy. Erin stood in the middle of them just staring over at the Heartless then poked Sora.  
  
"Stay behind it when your on the ground, jump and hit when it slashes. If you can, stay on the table and leap at it." she explained and stepped back as the Trickmaster started walking around the table, swinging his…uh, things. Sora nodded and took off into battle.  
  
All through the fight, Erin was dodging things, jumping out of the Trickmasters weapons and kicking at him when he collapsed those few times. When the Heartless swaggered over toward the stove, the girl took the time and climbed her way back up the table and yelled over to the fighters.  
  
"Blizzard! Use your blizzard magic on the fire!" she screamed, which unfortunately brought the creatures attention her way. Squealing she scampered off the table top and ran frantically away from the ever closer Trickmaster. She could hear the clatter of its jerking behind her as she dove into the small space under the stove. Pressing up against the brick wall, she turned to see the thing break down in front of the entrance and the energy seeping out of it.   
  
"Erin! Erin are you alright!" the voice of her Destiny Island friend cried out as the remains of the Heartless were pushed aside and her three companions rushed in.  
  
"Gawrsh, are you okay?" Goofy asked and helped the girl sit up. She nodded with a blank face and crawled out of the little space and looked down upon the Trickmaster.   
  
"How did you know what to do?" Donald asked and padded up next to her. Erin just gave a small laugh and looked at Sora, as if he would be able to help her out. The boy just smiled at her with a raised eyebrow. She was alone on this one.  
  
"Um…would you believe woman's intuition?" she laughed a bit and looked back and forth between the three males.  
  
"What a racket. How's a doorknob to get any sleep?" the golden knob behind them suddenly spoke out. Running over to the speaking inanimate object Sora, Erin, Goofy, and Donald all gave it a strange look. It was then that the knob yawned, showing off a keyhole which was hidden inside his mouth. The Keyblade in Sora's hand emitted a beam of light that entered into the keyhole. Erin was nearly jumping up and down the excitement. She was seeing a keyhole being closed! As the switching noise sounded and the door knob closed his mouth, the girl looked over to the other three.  
  
"What was that?" Donald questioned.  
  
"You hear that? Sounded like something closed." Sora wondered and glanced over at Erin with a small smile. He knew she could give the answer to what it was, but guessing by the look on her face, she wasn't giving. The boy was about to open his mouth to say something else in request for information, but before he could a small odd looking object dropped to the ground which caused Donald and Goofy to instantly hover around it.  
  
"This gummi ain't like the others. No, sir." the dog commented and shook his head. Donald picked it up and looked it over before tucking into a pocket of his clothing.  
  
"Okay, I'll hold on to it." he quacked then turned and looked around the room. Sora and Erin were off to one side. At the moment the girl was looking ahead with her hands clasped behind her back while the Keyblade master was looking over at her through the corner of his eye. In his mind he was willing Erin to spill the beans. 'You will tell me…you will tell me…', he kept repeating over and over in his head. Unfortunately, Sora's mind powers weren't what he hoped they were.  
  
"Splendid. You're quite the hero." a voice rang out from above bringing the party's attention up to the table. "If you're looking for Alice, she's not here. She's gone! Off with the shadows, into darkness…"  
  
"No…" Sora whispered and bowed his head. Behind him, Erin put her hand on his shoulder in a comforting manner. When his blue eyes turned back to her, she cracked the reassuring smile that she had picked up from Bella-Donna. The islander gave a smile back and patted her hand before turning and following Donald and Goofy back to the Gummi Ship. Watching the three move off, Erin looked to the floor then to the ceiling of the Bizarre Room. Mentioning Cleo, she wondered how her friend was fairing…

****

**:::::::::::Yeah, that was a relatively short chapter compared to some of them, but, I think it would be best for me and for you if I stopped here. I need to get my brain in order with the worlds and all that, so I think it'd be less confusing if I just started on the next chapter. Well, once again, sorry its kinda short but you can deal with it…or call a therapist. But before you do that REVIEW!!!!!!!!**


	9. Chapter Nine

** Welcome back chica's and chico's! Sorry it took so long, I've been preoccupied with finishing my Peter Pan story and putting up some new chapters for the POTC fiction. I know, I know, I've been neglecting this story, but I'm back with inspiration and a new fire for writing. Enjoy!**  


Chapter Nine  
  
Days passed at Hollow Bastion. Heartless passed by, villains screamed, and word came of Sora's entrance into another world. A grimace came to Bella Donnas face when she thought of the forest infested land. Deep Jungle had never been top of her list when it came to favorites. Those ridiculous Power Wilds were probably the most annoying enemy that she had ever seen in a video game. The want to rip them all to shreds and feed them to Cerberus, who was still waiting in the Coliseum, was a feeling that made the girl shriek in irritation every time she go to the Tarzan stage of the game.   
  
Riku had been fairly unbothered by Maleficent ever since he told her of his decision of staying. She of course went on with her soothing voice telling him of how she would make everything right again. Though her tone changed dramatically when he mentioned the little bit about Bella staying as well. She was less then happy about it, and made sure that the smaller female knew it by giving her a room far, far away from Riku and deathly close to the dwellings of the Heartless. Luckily, the young man had allowed her to bed in his room while he slept on one of the unusually uncomfortable couches.  
  
The bedrooms at Hollow Bastion were less than friendly and welcoming. Cobwebs gripped at every piece of furniture and dangled from the ceilings above. Everything was either black, dark blue, or gray, nothing cheerful in this villainous sanctuary. Though the entirety of the castle was running on electricity, none flowed through the rooms to power lamps or anything of that sort. Only candles perched on mantles and tables lit the chambers to some degree. If it had been cleaned up, the room would have been lovely. If you were into the gothic look that is.  
  
"Where'll they be going next, Bella?" Riku asked from his spot over by the window. The questioned girl turned slightly toward him with a blank look.  
  
"How would I know?" she answered with another question. He only gave a half smile and shook his head.  
  
"C'mon, I know you know. Tell me and I'll drop it."   
  
"Well…" she started and plopped down on the bed, sending a cloud of dust up into her face. Grumbling to herself, B.D. waved a hand in front of her face; ignoring the light chuckle Riku sent her way. "I think they should be getting to the Olympus Coliseum, unless they swing back by Traverse Town. Still, they wouldn't stay there long…" she blabbered on studying a piece of string hanging off her shirt intently. She really needed to stop shooting off like that.   
  
"Traverse Town?" the male in the room asked again, slipping off the windowsill he had been resting.  
  
"Yeah, a little merchant type town. We should be going there soon, but I don't really remember if it's before or after…the…Coliseum…" Bella drifted off when she saw the look Riku was sending her. Aqua eyes narrowed down at her as she stared up with her own wide blue ones. She knew that he knew that she knew what was going on. He wasn't stupid or gullible. Now it was only a matter of time before she would break down and tell all.   
  
"Lets go for a walk. I need to get outta this room." he continued on, breaking the stare before making his way to the door.  
  
"A walk? A walk around possibly the most dangerous place in the universe?" B.D. asked with a quirked brow as she stood from the dirty comforter.   
  
"Scared?" Riku taunted and opened the door.  
  
"Please." she scoffed and pushed him out of the way before walking through the door and into the dark hall. Throwing her hands in the air triumphantly, B.D. slapped a gargoyle statue on the face. "Scared my a-" she started to say but was cut off when two Big Bodies rounded the corner and waddled down her way. Pressing against the wall as they passed, Bella shrunk back when one bounced into the other, so causing it to ram against the statue she was previously smacking and smash it into a pile of gravel. Oh yeah, this was a _really_ good place to take a stroll.  
  
"Not the most graceful of creatures are they?" Riku suddenly commented and joined the girl at the other side of the hall with his arms crossed over his chest. She only looked at him with an odd expression, then down to the pile of gargoyle remains. Picking up a piece of the stone from the top of the rubble, and shook it in the young mans face, silently saying 'ya think!'. The rare sound of an actual laugh came from his lips and took Bella by the shoulders and started leading her down the hall. "Come on, let's go."  
  
The some of the hallways of the huge building were cold. Very cold. In some places frost clung to pictures and candle sticks, and the hot air coming from their mouths misted in front of them as they walked. It was at these times that Bella Donna envied Riku for being equipped with gloves. The only protections against these almost paranormal cold spots were the long cuffs of her shirt and the bagging legs of her pants. Other than that, she was on her own.   
  
"Lil' chilly, huh?" the silver haired spoke up and blew a big puff of air out, sending a little cloud out into view.  
  
"Chilly? Ha! I'm from Michigan, I've seen worse…" B.D. tried to excuse, but fact was fact. She just wasn't a cold weather person and she had a feeling that Riku could tell by the discoloration of her lips.   
  
"Michigan. Is that the name of your 'world'?" Riku emphasized and caused the girl to wince.   
  
"Y-yeah, you could say that." she stuttered with a brief nod of her head. The boy only rolled his eyes and smirked. As the two continued on down the hall in silence, both their minds were working on different problems. In Rikus head, he was trying to figure out how to get Bella to spill the beans on the truth behind where she came from and such. The question of if he could trust this Maleficent woman was also a main concern. He knew the woman didn't seem entirely trustworthy, but if she said she could help get Kairi back…But that would mean breaking the promise to B.D. Not that he hadn't already done that. With another mention of the female, his mind then switched to the relationship with the girl. She was so different from Kairi. Was that a bad thing? As time went on, Riku had begun to think that it was possible that he didn't see it as a bad thing after all. And he wasn't entirely sure what to make of that.  
  
The thoughts in Bella Donna's head were very different. They jumped back and forth between the lying to Riku about her origins, the dangers of the Disney villains, and her slight crush she had for the silver haired boy. She wasn't afraid to admit it to herself, but to anyone else…no, no, no, red light all the way. That would be getting too involved. Getting to involved with Riku meant getting to involved with the game. Getting to involved with the game meant the loss of her immortality in the computer generated realm. Becoming part of a video game and facing the possibility that she wouldn't be able to keep a grip on her reality was something that B.D. didn't want to grow accustom too.   
  
Coming to yet another corner of the maze that was Hollow Bastion, the girl kept her head down and stared at the hard floor. Not watching where you're going in a place run by evil beings is not something anyone should do. Before Riku or herself could come to a halt, Bella turned the sharp angle and rammed straight into a tall, broad, black adorned chest. The impact brought an unwanted screech from her throat and sent her flailing backwards into the wall, clutching her chest. A little jumpy maybe?  
  
"Hey, hey, easy there babe. Relax." a smooth voice that reminded the shocked girl of a car salesman one would find in the big city. There, standing near the opposite wall a towering form stood with his hands out in front of him as he spoke. Atop his head a tuft of blue flame sprouted up and he ran a long fingered hand over it while rolling his shoulders. "And watch where you're goin', alright?"  
  
"Hades?" Bella sighed out and pushed herself off the wall with a bit of assistance from Riku who glared over at the god of death.   
  
"One and only. Hey, kid, try ta teach your chickie-poo ta chill out a bit, eh?" Hades mumbled.  
  
"Chicky-poo?" B.D. growled.  
  
"My chicky-poo?" Riku asked in a more even tone and raise one slim brow.  
  
"Yeah, so get a grip." the god snapped at the girl.  
  
"Why are you even here anyway? Shouldn't you be at the Coliseum?" she replied in a bitter tone. No wonder this guy ran the Underworld, a few minutes with him and she was ready to claw his face off. Though the years of being stuck with all the corpses probably didn't do much for his personality. Turning back to the Egyptian, Hades stiffened as his 'hair' let loose a few streams of red and orange. Who was the one that needed to get a grip?  
  
"Hey, mind your business, girly. It'll get ya a lot further in life, trust me." the gray skinned man said and flicked her forehead with his middle finger, making her take a step back. Riku, being the manly man he was, stepped between the two and smacked Hades' hand away. Bold move.  
  
"Leave her alone." the shorter of the two males spoke in a demanding voice that would make any less of a person back up. But this was Hades, and backing up was not his style.   
  
"Don't give me this chivalry crap, kid. I got places ta go." he chuckled and pushed Riku aside right into Bella Donna. As the two tumbled to the floor, the god strolled off on his way to their left. Grunting when the young mans shoulder blade dug into her ribs, B.D. lightly slapped his arm to send the point. Rolling off the girl, Riku came to sit on his knees beside her.   
  
"Living here is going to be wonderful." he grumbled and clasped his hands in his lap. "You alright?"  
  
"I'm not made of glass, Riku." she smirked and sat up. "But, yeah, I'm fine."  
  
"Well," Riku started and stood to his feet before putting a hand out to Bella Donna, "Wanna head back? I think I've had enough walking around this place for one day."  
  
"Yeah…" she sighed and took the offered hand, joining him. Holding his gloved hand made her think about what it was made of. It didn't really feel like leather, cotton, or any other kind of material she'd ever felt. Rubbing her thumb along the black glove, B.D. noticed that it had the same creases of leather, but had the softness of cloth. She couldn't help but think that it was odd for a video game to have this much detail. She should be able to recognize the feel of things shouldn't she? The creators of the game wouldn't have gone through all the trouble of making a new kind of fabric, would they? Shaking her head, the girl failed to remember that she was still holding Riku's hand and was still rubbing with her finger.   
  
Freezing mid-rub, Bella glanced up at Riku with her head still tilted down. The only thing she saw was his silver locks falling over his face as he also gazed down at their still latched hands. Why wasn't he pulling away? What was wrong with him? What was wrong with her?!  
  
"Actually, I need to go back to the library." she finally spit out and jerked her hand out of his.   
  
"Why?" he asked after snapping out of it and pulling his hand back as well.   
  
"I…I think I left my book bag in there. I'll be back in a little bit." Bella explained and started walking off down the hall.  
  
"Wait! You shouldn't go alone." Riku stopped her with his voice. Turning back around and walking backwards, the young woman shrugged.  
  
"Don't worry, Riku. I'm a big girl." with that, said she curled her arm up to do a mock flex and rounded the corner once more in the opposite direction Hades went.   
  
"Alright…" the boy whispered and took one last look at the deserted hall before making his way back to the room. Such an odd girl.  
  
Wiping her hands on her pants, Bella Donna was suddenly glad that Riku wore gloves. Feeling her palms sweat when they gripped hands was not something that she needed him to do. Keeping hold of her hand was not something that she needed him to do either. She needed to get away from him for a while. To involved, to involved.   
  
Switching to another subject, B.D.'s mind went back to Hades. Why was he here? Sora and Erin would be arriving at the Coliseum soon, so why was he still hanging around Hollow Bastion? Running a hand over the wall as she walked, the blue-eyed girl bit her lip in thought. Why was he here? Scanning the game over and over in her head, she tried to think of a conclusion. Sora goes to Wonderland, Deep Jungle, and the Coliseum. What's in between?   
  
Stopping in her tracks, Bella grumbled to herself. Duh. After Deep Jungle, there's another meeting of the villains. Turning around abruptly, the knowledgeable girl ran off back down the hall in the direction the god went. Toward the castle Chapel. Sprinting down halls, swerving through the lift shop, scampering up stairs she went, always cautious of the danger that could be waiting around the next corner. Maybe taking Hades' advice wasn't such a bad idea at the time. Especially when she spotted the flame haired figure stepping through a doorway into the huge room of electric lifts.  
  
Slowing down her pace substantially, B.D. crept along the wall until the glow of the blue flame disappeared through the darkness. Sliding through the doorway, she was forced to stop once more when the god stopped and waited for a lift. Why in the world would he need a lift? Weren't gods suppose to be able to just poof anywhere? Oh, well. Everyone needs there exercise. Watching as he was transported onto the contraption and brought upward, the girl jogged over to the small tower like object and touched it tentatively with her finger. The feeling not unlike going between her world and the video game came over her and she found herself riding up to another level.   
  
She followed Hades until they both found themselves once more in the lift shop with the door to the Chapel just ahead. Even though she was close to her destination, Bella was careful to slip along the wall and out of the yellow gaze of the gray man. Jumping slightly when one or two Shadows clambered around the corner, she quickly clammed up when she realized she let out a little yelp of surprise. She was really not good at this following thing.  
  
"You again?" the voice of Hades spoke out when he caught the girl frozen against the cold stones. "What are you doin' here?"  
  
"Um…" she started and pursed her lips. "Walking."  
  
"Hey, babe, I'm a jerk, not stupid." the god gave that menacing smirk and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. "Why are ya followin' me? Couldn't resist that old southern charm? Get it? Southern?" the pointed down when the Underworld awaited his return. The female just stood there with a quirked brow.   
  
"Seriously, what are ya doin' here?"  
  
"Isn't there a meeting of the villains in…the…Chapel?" B.D. asked and hesitantly pointed toward the door. She had to be careful. This guy may seem like a just any other annoying egotistical male, but he was Hades.  
  
"Villains?" he drawled out and brought the girl to shift nervously in her place.  
  
"Well…what else do you want me to categorize you people as?"   
  
"Good point. I suppose your plannin' on watchin' the lil' meeting, huh?"  
  
"That was my original plan, yes." she nodded and her face twisted into a nervous expression. Stupid, stupid, stupid.   
  
"Hey, not my problem. According ta green gal in there, you already know what's goin' on anyway." Hades mumbled nonchalantly and made his way for the door.  
  
"Maleficent? What did she say?" Bella Donna asked the retreating god. He only flicked a hand back toward her and continued. "Hades!" Her yell turned him back around sharply with an orange glow to his flaming locks. Instantly she regretted raising her voice. What was she thinking, yelling at the god of the Underworld? Silly…  
  
"Wha-what did she say?"   
  
"Hey, I like you, babe. Ya lil' spitfire you." Hades pointed a bony at her and shrugged one broad shoulder. "Somethin' about you not bein' from around here. Then she went on about you knowin' the plan, what the turn out is…I faded out after that. Though I did catch something about you holding back all this from that boyfriend of yours."  
  
"He's not my boyfriend." Bella deadpanned.  
  
"Ohh, do I detect a hint of bitterness?" the god rubbed his chin, grinning at the look he was getting from the girl. "Hey, I won't go usin' that tid-bit of info against ya, as for the others in there…"   
  
"Bella?" a voice came from behind the two conversing ones.   
  
"Riku! H-Hey, what are you doing up here?" B.D. stuttered and turned to him with an innocent look smeared on her face.  
  
"You weren't in the library. I just want to tell you the bags in the room…" Riku drifted off when he caught sight of Hades and immediately narrowed his eyes. In response, the god put his hands out in front of him.  
  
"Easy there tiger. Later, babe." Hades added insult to injury and winked to the girl before entering the Chapel. The silver haired boy stepped up beside her with questioning eyes.   
  
"Don't give me that look, Riku."  
  
"You left to talk with him?" he tossed his arm out to the side.  
  
"Nooo, I left to go to the meeting." she quickly corrected and shook her head.   
  
"What meeting?" Riku stated sternly and crossed his arms. B.D. grabbed onto his shirt and pulled him to the door.   
  
"Follow me and you'll see."  
  
Though at first he wasn't all that thrilled about being pulled in the direction of Hades, Riku followed close behind Bella Donna as they went through the door and down the dark stairway of the Chapel. In the middle of the oval room, the two teenagers could make out numerous figures standing around a table. Pulling the boy over to one side, the girl put a finger to her lips in a sign to keep quiet.  
  
"What drew the Heartless to that world?" a smooth voice asked. Bella recognized it immediately as the vizier, Jafar.  
  
"The hunter lured them there. It was his lust for power that was the bait. But it seems the bait was too tasty for his own good." the sorceress replied from the head of the table. A laugh came from the member of the group that hailed from Halloween Town.  
  
"Yeah, he got chomped instead!"  
  
"Hmm…A weak hearted fool like him stood no chance against the Heartless." once again the man from Agrabah spoke and stepped forward. "But the boy is a problem. He found one of the keyholes."  
  
"Fear not." Maleficent started. "It will take him ages to find the rest. Besides, he remains blissfully unaware of our other plan."  
  
"Yes, the princesses."  
  
"They are falling into our hands, one by one." with that the horned woman glanced to her side to see a blonde girl stumble out of the darkness. "Speaking of which…"   
  
"Alice." Bella Donna whispered and shook her head. Things were beginning to come together.

* * *

"Um…"  
  
"Good timing. Give me a hand will ya? Move that pedestal over there for me? I gotta spruce up this place for the games."  
  
There Erin was standing in the lobby of the Olympus Coliseum. In front of her the little satyr, Phil, was currently straightening a sign while giving orders to Sora. The boy only shrugged at the order and stepped over to the large object. Pushing with all his might until his shoes scuffed at the ground and Erin pulled him away and back to the little goat man, the Keyblade master rubbed the back of his neck and sent a big grin to the girl.  
  
"Its way to heavy." he admitted. Phil hesitated in his work.  
  
"What?! Too heavy? Since when have you been such a little--" he started and turned to look upon those who he was speaking to. Turning to Sora, the satyr raised a brow when he found he had to lower his gaze. "Oh, wrong guy. What're you doin' here? This here's the world famous Coliseum--hero's only! And I got my hands filled preparing for the games. So run along pip-squeaks."   
  
The four males in the room just glared at each other, while Erin held a hand over her mouth to keep from giggling. What a cute little goat man!  
  
"Look, its like this." Phil continued. "Hero's are comin' from all over to fight ferocious monsters right here in the Coliseum." During this little explanatory speech, the little man walked around waving his hands in the air.  
  
"You got hero's standing right in front of you" Donald quaked out and crossed his arms over his chest while sporting his usual glare. Beside him, Goofy put his hands on Sora's shoulders from behind.  
  
"Yep, he's a real hero chosen by the Keyblade."  
  
"And we're hero's too!" the duck went on and pointed to himself.  
  
"Hero?" Phil stared wide-eyed at Sora before busting out in chuckles. "That runt?"  
  
"What's so funny? I've fought a bunch of monsters!" the boy argued and hit himself in the chest. Beside him, Erin slapped him on the shoulder and nodded.  
  
"That's right! Saved my life I dunno how many times!" she ranted and pointed a finger to the short one. "So you better let him compete!" Oh it was so great getting her own lines!  
  
"Gonna let your girlfriend fight your battles, kid?"   
  
"Hey!" Sora exclaimed and took a step toward the satyr. The little guy shrugged and made his way over to the pedestal.  
  
"Hey, if you can't even move this…" he said and started his attempts and moving the stone. "You can't call yourself…a hero!" he gasped out and wiped his forehead.  
  
"Okay, so it takes more than brawn. Well…well lets see what you can do!"  
  
With that said, Phil led the four into the arena where the barrels of the challenge waited. Before being pushed off into the stands, Erin was sure to whisper to Sora the fastest way through the course. Yet something else she gave away that Cleo would probably kill her for. As the time trials went on, the girl sat on the uncomfortable seats of the Coliseum and cheered the blade wielder on. Wincing when he failed the first time from her flawed strategy, she gave a sorry smile and clapped slowly. Okay, so maybe she wasn't as good at this remembering stuff as B.D. was. But she was still alive so…  
  
"Ya know, you ain't bad kid!" Phil commented after the time trails were through and done with. Erin jumped up and down excitedly beside the chestnut haired boy and clapped her hands some more.  
  
"Looks like I'm headed for the games!" Sora gave the big cheesy grin and crossed his arms behind his head. The next thing they knew, the party was sitting outside the gates with depressed looks on their faces.  
  
"A pass? Where in the world am I gonna get a pass?" the boy asked and rested his chin in his hand. On the step next to him, the brown haired girl threw an arm around his shoulders.  
  
"Don't worry. I'm sure you'll get one somewhere…" she faded off and looked around the dirt court yard. Any minute now…  
  
"Its not like someone's just handing them out!" Donald screeched out the strangely specific words.  
  
"Rather a stubborn old goat, wouldn't ya say?"  
  
Oh no.  
  
"Who are you?" the Kings wizard demanded in surprise when the shadow of a dark figure appeared over them.  
  
"Whoa, hold on there fuzz boy. Wait let me guess…" the god of death slid toward Sora as he spoke. "You wanna enter the games, right?"  
  
The boy stood up in curiosity at this odd being and nodded his head. Grunting when Hades laid his hand roughing on his shoulder, blue eyes widened when he spotted what he was being offered.  
  
"Well, then, hey, get a load of this."  
  
"A pass?"  
  
"Its all yours." the god gave a sharp toothed grin and quirked a brow when he spotted Erin, who in return shrunk away. Studying her clothing for a moment, his yellow tinted eyes narrowed. "You gotta friend around here, kid?"  
  
"BELLA!" Erin exclaimed a little too quickly and sent all the males stepping backward. Gathering herself, the small girl stomped over to the god, only to be pulled back by Sora. "Did you hurt her? Ohhh, I knew it was a bad idea for her to go to that place! A bad, bad idea!"  
  
"Whoa, you're worse then she is…"  
  
"She IS. That means she's alive right!" she went on in her loud tone of voice.   
  
"Yeah, hey, in fact, I'll go check on her for ya." Hades pointed behind him with is thumb in an obviously annoyed voice. "Good luck, kid. I'm pullin' for ya, lil' shorty." He parted with those words and strode away. The four didn't ever get to see him disappear before Sora jolted back into the lobby with his pass in hand.   
  
And so the matches began. Shadows, Soldiers, Power Wilds, and everything else in between. Being caught once more in the stands was not where Erin wanted to be. She wanted to be down there, fighting, and draining that immortality stuff and Cleo told her about for all that it was worth. Though she had a feeling that she would probably end up to be more bad then good down in the fighting grounds. Sora didn't need anyone else to protect. However, she was always sure to find her way down there after the matches were over, just to cheer her team on. Unlike in the game that she had experienced, other fighters dwelled outside the arena. They were mostly comprised of Heartless of all shape and size. Though, one other fighter caught the teenage girls attention right away.   
  
His blonde hair pointed upward to the sky much like Sora's. A long crimson cape flowed behind him and wound its way around his neck, hiding most of his gorgeous face. A single black wing sprouted from his left shoulder and matched in wonderfully with his newly acquired claw. Hooks and buckles hung from his body as he moved across the field, and Erin had to clench her fists and jaw to keep herself from going all fan-girly.   
  
"Cloud Strife." she whispered, the words hardly catching the ear of Sora.  
  
"What did you say, Erin?"  
  
"Cloud Strife." she repeated in a slightly louder voice. Before she thought the resemblance to Vincent Valentine was too much for this new Cloud, but now, up close…she was having nooo problem with it whatsoever.   
  
"Who's that?" the duck of the group asked and poked the girl in the arm. She had no time, or breath, to reply however. Soon after those words were spoken, the dark Strife slowly walked by the little group at the side of the field. His intense blue gaze fell on Sora, and the boy only looked on with his usual innocent eyes. Erin on the other hand, wasn't keeping herself together as well as she hoped. Her hands hand moved up to her clutch around her chin, and her legs were bent at the knee and threatening to give out soon. Damn those teenage hormones of hers! Raising a few fingers in a little wave to the Final Fantasy VII warrior, the girl then had to take a deep breath. A swift nod of his head was Clouds response to the timid greeting, and that nod sent things flying in Erin's mind. Watching his every move until he disappeared from sight, the girl then turned to Sora and let out an unidentifiable sound.  
  
"Did you see that? He looked at me, Sora! CLOUD STRIFE looked at ME!" she carried on and latched onto the blade master, who in turn cocked a brow. If anyone hadn't have known better, they would have said there was a splotch of jealousy in those sapphire orbs.  
  
"Oh, brother." Donald muttered and shook his head.   
  
"Yeah, he's not that great." Sora also spoke in a low tone and crossed his arms while Erin kept her hold on him.  
  
"Oh, you silly boy, you." she said and patted him on the cheek before skipping happily off to the stands again. The boy had to hold back the urge to call out 'don't you wanna go look for you boyfriend!?'. But that would be childish.  
  
** Ah, can we say 'gaining of relationships momentum'? Huh, can we? Yeah, that is a mouth full to say isn't it. Alright, about this chapter…I just had to stick Hades in there as a pretty big character. He's just so great! Though, that's only my opinion. As for if Erin and Sora are gonna hook up, I'm not gonna say. As for Bella and Riku…if you don't know the answer, you haven't been reading correctly! Just one more thing, if you're into Van Helsing, go read my fic called A Saint At My Side and a Demon In My Arms. Or just any of my other stories, and if you do read my other stories, do like you do on this one and REVIEW!!!!**


	10. Chapter Ten

**Nothing to say. Read the chapter. Simple as that.  
**  


Chapter Ten

"They're collecting princesses?" Riku asked slowly as he and Bella shuffled slowly through the hallways of Hollow Bastion.  
  
"Yes." she answered. It was actually a bit weird saying it. They were collecting princesses. Sounded like some kid going after all the figures in a McDonalds happy meal.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"You'll find out."  
  
"That's all you're gonna give me?" the boy questioned with a aggravated voice.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Damn, Bella-Donna." he mumbled and ran a hand through his silver locks. This lack of information was seemingly eating on his nerves.  
  
"Believe me Riku, you'll find out soon enough."  
  
"Right, right, I know. You'll tell me when the time is right." the male said in a low voice and pushed past her and into the bedroom. Bella-Donna didn't like Riku being angry with her; she didn't like it at all. Ever since she took of to go find Hades, the islander had been acting cold toward her. Was it because she left him to talk to the god? Was it because she was constantly keeping him in the dark about things? Was he just irritated by all that was going on? She had no idea whatsoever.  
  
Following him into the room, B.D. sighed at the sight of him sitting in his usual place on the windowsill, staring outside with a blank look on his face. His tightly crossed arms and tight shoulders were clearly signs of 'do not disturb'. But that didn't mean that she would follow those signs.  
  
"Riku?" she asked quietly and walked up beside him. He only let out a huff in response.  
  
"I have to go back to get some things from the house."  
  
Another huff.  
  
"I should be back in a few minutes."  
  
Huff. This was getting ridiculous.  
  
"Fine! Be that way, be childish! See if I care!" B.D. suddenly lashed out in a child like tone, giving her words a hypocritical sense. Riku turned his head toward her with slightly glaring eyes as he watched her snatch the worn bag from the floor.  
  
"And, hey, I was gonna ask you if you wanted to go this time. But noooo. If you wanna stay here and mope around, be my guest!" With that exclamation, Bella swung the bag over her shoulder and pulled her shirtsleeve up in search of the wrist control. In her looking, she didn't noticed the glare turn to surprise on Riku's face at the news of her asking him if he wanted to go back. She didn't see the thoughts roll behind his aquatic eyes, and she didn't see him lung for her right when the button was pushed and the fading began.  
  
The light feeling of the process came over her as she shifted from Hollow Bastion to Michigan. Though she had to admit, she did feel a bit heavier this trip. Maybe she should lay off the junk food for a while. The lab slowly came into focus as everything came back together again inside the phone booth. Still, something was different. For one, she was pressed up against the door of the booth, two, she spotted a pair of feet that weren't hers on the floor, and three, she could see a spot of light colored hair swaying in front of her face. Silver hair even.  
  
"Well…look who decided to join me." Bella-Donna mumbled and tried to push herself away from the door as much as she could. That attempt only resulted in her swinging back and into the glass side with the stowaway pressed up beside her.  
  
"Offer I couldn't refuse." Riku chuckled and turned his head as much as he could toward the girl. Now, things were different when it was Bella and Erin in the phone booth. Erin was smaller, narrower, and shorter. Riku, well, Riku wasn't any of those. Both teens were between 5'9" and 5'11", and phone booths were not really made for such people to be in there at the same time. The door had to go in, and there was no more room inside that they could think of.  
  
Over and over the two moved themselves around in attempts to get the stubborn door open. Legs were swung from side to side, arms tossed up, backs bent, and necks creaked. Grunts and small arguments filled the basement as time when on, and both prayed that no one would waltz down the stairs to see them in some…embarrassing positions that turned the two faces red a few times.  
  
"Get your face outta there!"  
  
"I can't help it! Move to the side!"  
  
"I can't, there's no more room over here! You move!"  
  
"Then at least slide your leg over a bit!" Riku tried to reason and nudged Bella's leg a bit.  
  
"I'm trying, your butt's in the way!" B.D. argued back before their limbs finally gave out and they both crumpled in a heap on the floor of the phone booth, still keeping the embarrassing position intact of course.  
  
"Well, this is just a bushel of fun isn't it?" the girl asked with sarcasm etched along her voice.  
  
"Shut up." the boy mumbled while trying to keep his head away from Bella's…chest area. Both started the desperate struggle to get themselves upright once more, but that mission turned out to be harder then expected. Whenever Riku tried to lift himself, his legs always got caught on Bella's legs, and they were in just the right spot that they were perfectly wedge between the door and his knee. When Bella-Donna tried to get up, her legs, of course, would stay stuck, along with her hair in a few of the screws holding together the booth. Oh, if only they had a screwdriver.  
  
"I think…we're running…out of air," the silver haired sighed out after another attempt at standing.  
  
"That's nonsense, this thing is bound to be filled with holes of all kinds. You're just getting yourself winded. Calm down."  
  
"Yeah, well…you're not the one hovering over dangerous territory." Riku sighed and shifted slightly on his arm which was the only thing keeping him from collapsing down on the girl. This little comment not only brought a small blush to B.D.'s face, but to the boy's as well.  
  
"B-Bella?" another female voice stuttered from outside of the phone booth, showing obvious strain to hold back laughter. Both teen's in the booth winced at the familiar voice and slowly turned their heads to gaze upon their finder.  
  
Not five feet away, Auntie Albie stood with a hand firmly clasped over her mouth and tears welling up in her glasses framed eyes from keeping her entertainment bottled up. B.D. knew that their luck wouldn't last and someone would somehow find their way down to the basement, and here she was. It must have been a provocative sight. The girl's legs thrown up in different directions, Riku half leaning on top of her, both faces red as Macintosh apples. Whether Albie knew that this little scene was not what it looked like, or if she thought she had walked in on something, it didn't matter. Either way, the scientist found it absolutely hilarious.  
  
"Gahahahahaha!" the woman burst out, doubling over as well. Bella-Donna and Riku watched as her glasses fell to the ground before Albie attempted to pick them up, but only toppled to the ground; laughter throwing her off balance. Both teens managed to force more blood up into their faces as the embarrassment continued. The large room echoed with the ringing of Albie's giggles as she tried to fit some words in between the laughing and pointed weakly to the phone booth.  
  
"Albie," B.D. tried desperately to get her aunts attention. "Albie!"  
  
"O-One moment, d-dear." she forced out and stood from the floor, tears of joy glazing her slightly wrinkled cheeks. Chuckles still found their way out of her mouth as the woman searched through a few drawers and crates in search of something to help the trapped ones. A screwdriver turned out to be the hero for the day as the aunt slowly unhinged the phone booth door before letting it slam to the floor.  
  
Bell and Riku spilled out and onto the cold floor, still firmly tangled together. Only this time, the boys face didn't avoid coming in contact with the girls more…protruding area. Both of them let out a small grumbling noise at the occurrence, and Riku was quick to pull himself off the girl, as she was fast to scoot herself across the room. The sound of the scientist's laughter once more flooded the room as her squinting eyes caught what turned the teen's faces, once more, red.  
  
"Forgive me if I in-interrupted anything!" she gasped out with one hand holding her stomach and the other grabbing the booth for support.  
  
She never received a response from either. Before more laughter could be heard, both blushers were jetting up the stairs and through the door leaving the humored aunt deserted in the basement. Luckily, Charlie wasn't home to discover what had occurred and the two made it to the kitchen without any other problems. Still, they did keep their distance from one another for a while.  
  
"Are we gonna go outside?" Riku asked as he pulled a cherry patterned curtain back from the window and stared out at the different world. At the question, Bella paused slightly in her food gathering.  
  
"Um…"  
  
"You weren't planning on it were you?" he asked with a quirked brow and a small tap of his finger on the window.  
  
"Well…"  
  
"Well?"  
  
"Well…I do have to go out and get our homework from Erin's house…"  
  
"And?" he prompted once again.  
  
"And I guess if I drove over there, people wouldn't see as much of you…"  
  
"Right, lets go." Riku stated excitedly before grabbing B.D.'s arm and pulling her out of the kitchen and through the rest of the spacious house. The front door was yanked open and the porch lay spread out before them. Snatching the massive collection of keys from the small hook on the doorframe, Bella-Donna yelled out towards the basement.  
  
"We're going out, taking the car, be back later!" she let out in one breath before she disappeared out the door and down the steps.  
  
"Now where?" the silver haired asked and glanced around the peaceful neighborhood like an anxious child who just found his way into the worlds largest ball pit.  
  
"You can be pretty excitable can't you?" the girl commented and shook her head slightly with a grin plastered on her face. "C'mon, get in the car."  
  
"Car?" He turned his head and watched as Bella made her way over to the less then perfect automobile. It was large. Large and ugly. The station wagon was as big as a boat and hideous to boot. Wooden paneling ran across the outside, framing the dark blue paint. Ah yes, the Ford Station Wagon; un-small at any speed. He had never really learned about these 'car' things, but the mere sight of this one made Riku cringe.  
  
"Are you coming or not?" his companions voice broke his thinking and brought him back to look at her from his spot on the opposite side of the vehicle.  
  
"Yeah, I'm coming." with that mumbled, the boy glanced through the glass over at Bella's side to see exactly how she opened the door. Sighing as she slid in, he fumbled with the handle a bit before pulling it just right and letting to door creak open. The inside was fairly clean. Save for a few food wrappers and empty coke bottles. The shiny leather of the seat made it easy for Riku to slip inside and immediately be hit with the smell of trees. He figured it was from the odd tree shaped thing dangling from the little mirror above.  
  
"Not the most attractive thing in the world is it?" B.D. chuckled and started up the engine, making the islander jump slightly. He watched with interest as she pulled the seatbelt up and over her shoulder before clicking it locked at her side. Following suite, he did the same on his side then looked back at Bella-Donna. Now she was pushing a button on the door that made the window come down. Shooting his eyes to his own door, Riku ran his gloved fingers over the black buttons searching for the right one.  
  
Beside him, Bella bit her bottom lip to hold back her laugh reflex. It was almost…cute to watch a serious guy like Riku try these things for the first time. Though she could imagine the glare she would get if she let out even the smallest giggle. He went through the door locks first, then the back window button, then finally he got his prize and pushed the front window button. A triumphant smirk spread on his face as he turned back to B.D. and found her stifled smile.  
  
"Lets get goin'." she said and turned her amused eyes behind after the transmission had been shifted into reverse. The station wagon squeaked in protest as it was moved down the slanted drive and into the road. After the small battle with the sticking gears, Bella managed to get the thing going down the road and toward the highway. All the way, Riku was staring out the window like dog on a road trip. However, those bright aqua eyes staring out at the world like that was bound to bring in some female attention at a stoplight. Even if it was unwelcome.  
  
"Hey there." a sultry voice spoke out as they came to stop at the red light.  
  
Bianca Wisenborn. The picture of perfection to all the high school males, class queen, and Shelly Bloomburg's older cousin. Bianca Wisenborn. The only person who could ruin Bella's day.  
  
"Just ignore it, and it'll go away." the Egyptian whispered in the direction of Riku, but it was too late.  
  
"Hey." the silver haired replied with a small smile. Immediately, a less then happy look stormed over B.D.'s face, and her hands gripped tighter on the steering wheel.  
  
"Bella-Donna," Bianca stated plainly, moving her sharp green eyes toward the younger girl. "Thought that was you. Who's this, your cousin?"  
  
"No." she answered in a stiff voice. That overly friendly tone that Bianca sent her way was irritating beyond belief.  
  
"Oh no? Boyfriend?" the junior asked in a pleasant manner, but her little cronies in the backseat of her parents BMW cackled. Riku looked back and forth between the smiling red head and B.D. who was keeping her darkened eyes on the light up ahead.  
  
"No." the sixteen-year-old said through clenched teeth.  
  
"Friend?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And what's your friends name?" Bianca shifted her eyes back to Riku. The boy's eyes went to Bella, almost as if he was asking permission to tell. It was good to see that he wasn't completely oblivious to the tension flowing between the two cars.  
  
"Rick. His name is Rick," she answered for him, her flaming eyes still locked on the traffic racing in front of them. Riku gave a small smile and nodded in agreement to Bianca.  
  
"Well, Rick, Bella-Donna," the red head started, adding a bit of hidden venom to the younger girl's name. "We're going down to the café to meet up with the boys. Care to join?"  
  
"Um…" the Kingdom Hearts character started and once more looked toward the enraged girl beside him.  
  
"I'm busy." she huffed out in a stern voice.  
  
"Then would Rick like to-"  
  
"He's busy too." Bella shot out and finally turned her attention over to the neighboring car, making her growing angry too viewable for her liking.  
  
"Ohhh, I think she's jealous."  
  
"I think you're right," Bianca sighed and leaned back in her seat. "Well, I would hate to invade on another girls territory. Guess I'll see you two later."  
  
With those last worlds, the window of the Beemer went up and the light on its lane turned green. In a flash the silver car was speeding down the highway, probably being filled with laughter and joking. On the other hand, inside the station wagon the atmosphere held nothing that resembled cheer. Riku sat quietly in his seat while B.D. grinded her hands on the steering wheel, staring savagely up at the stoplight. When it finally popped to green, she slammed down on the accelerator, sending the unprepared passenger back into his seat. Turning swiftly around the corner, the boy stared at his friend through the corner of his eye.  
  
"Bella?"  
  
"What?" she asked sharply.  
  
"Is everything…okay?"  
  
"Why would anything be wrong?"  
  
"Well, it just seemed that you two didn't really-"  
  
"Didn't really what? Get along? You don't think I can get along with a person like that, Riku? I don't hit on any attractive face that I see do I? No, I'm a civilized person. I can talk to people like that when I have to. I can hold back my urges. I don't need to get violent! I could have let you go if you could've! But you can't just go out like that, Riku! Do you have any idea what people like that would do if they found out who you really are? They would sell you to the government! They're bad people! So stay the hell away from Bianca, Riku!"  
  
Silence. The station wagon was once again silent as death. Bella drove the car with an icy glaze to her eyes, never pulling them away from the road. In the passenger seat, Riku sat with slightly widened eyes, and mouth agape at the outburst. He never knew that B.D. could talk so fast. But that wasn't the only thing that brought about the surprised expression.  
  
Some of the comments she made stuck fast in Riku's mind. Like, _'I don't hit on any attractive face that I see do I?', 'I can hold back my urges.'_, and _'So stay the hell away from Bianca, Riku!_'. Thoughts swam behind his eyes as his expression slowly turned from shocked to sly.  
  
"You are jealous. Aren't you?"  
  
"Excuse me?" Bella tilted her head toward him slightly, the ever-present anger lining her voice.  
  
"You are. You are jealous." Riku repeated and shifted in his seat to look at the girl squarely.  
  
"That's ridiculous! Why would I be jealous?" she exclaimed with a disbelieving smile.  
  
"I don't know, why would you be?" he countered with a small shrug.  
  
"I'm not jealous, Riku."  
  
"Really?" the silver haired asked with a smirk and a raised brow.  
  
"Stop thinking so highly of yourself." B.D. snapped and made a turn to Erin's road.  
  
"Fine." he said dismissively and turned back around in his seat, staring straight out the window. He swore, sometimes she was so stubborn. But why did he want he to say that she was jealous? Why did he want to hear her say that she was jealous of some other girl getting friendly with him? He didn't know…but then again, he kind of did. Though he wouldn't say it. Stubbornness ran wild between the two.  
  
Finally pulling up to a blue two-story house, Bella-Donna shook her head at herself and parted the car. Jealous. Humph. To think, her being jealous of that small of a thing? As she said, it was ridiculous. Sure she had a crush on Riku, but she wasn't the insanely jealous type…so why did she have the need to rip Bianca's hair out of her scalp?  
  
"Jealous," B.D. whispered out loud to herself with a shake of her head. "Why would I be jealous?"  
  
"I don't know…why would you be?" Riku responded unexpectedly and caused the girl to turn her attention back to him. He sat there, his eyes fixed through the windshield, staring at nothing in particular. Bella kept her blue eyes on him for a few minutes before he slowly moved his own light colored orbs back over to her. Still keeping a firm grip on the steering wheel B.D. started to say something, but was interrupted by a loud bang on the window that sent both teens jumping.

* * *

The blonde haired warrior stood above the fallen Key barer, Buster Sword held ready. Tension was thick in the coliseum as all eyes watched, waiting the finishing slash that would end the match. Sitting up in the stands, Erin sat with her whole body clenched in nervousness. Through the whole thing she had been volleying back and forth on who to cheer for. The first choice was Sora, because he was the good guy. Then there was Cloud, and she wanted to cheer for him because…he was Cloud Strife. In the back of her jumbled little mind, she knew that the deathblow would never come, that's not how the game ended. But she was still as nervous as a baby rabbit.  
  
That feeling slowly faded away when she caught sight of the older male lowering his sword slowly, letting the bewildered Sora stand to his feet. People in the small crowd either grumbled in aggravation that no one was killed or let out a sigh in relief. Either way, both sounds were quickly cut off by a loud rumbling noise.  
  
"Thunder?" the girl squinted and looked up to the sunny sky above. Not a cloud in sight…well, except for the one down in the arena. But sure enough, there it was again, the deep rumbling sound vibrating the entire structure. If Erin hadn't have known any better she would have said it was like a huge dog growling. Wait…dog growling…They were in the coliseum. Hades was in the coliseum. Cloud made a deal with Hades. Hades had a really big dog…Cerberus.  
  
"Cerberus!" she exclaimed in realization and stood from her seat before racing down to the battlefield. "Sora!"  
  
"Wha-" the boy started before a giant paw came down dangerously close to him. The three-headed dog towered over the Keyblade master, saliva dripping from its fanged mouth. Back behind the monstrous form, the still running girl could make out the retreating figure of a tall flaming god. And the game rolls on.  
  
"Phil, get them outta here!" a mans voice rang out as the petite girl finally made it to the lower level. Before she knew it, Sora had latch onto her arm and she was quickly dragged out of the stadium and toward the lobby, leaving poor unconscious Cloud and Hercules to fend for themselves. The light of the entry room came into view as the boy and girl rushed down the hall behind Donald, Goofy, and Phil.  
  
The satyr collapsed on the floor in a gasping heap as the runners came to a stop. Inside the arena, sounds of the fight could be heard echoing through the stone. Beside her, Erin could almost see the adrenaline rushing through Sora's veins as he stared back through the dark passage with eager blue eyes. She knew he wanted to go back in there and fight Cerberus. She knew she had wanted to when she first played the game. But she also knew that it was usually better to wait until the return to Traverse Town. Now all she had to do was convince Sora of that fact.  
  
"Sora?"  
  
"Yeah?" he mumbled under his breath as he continued gazing down the hall.  
  
"Don't you think we should be heading back? Ya know, to ask Leon about those-"  
  
"Whew, that was close! That was Cerberus, the guardian of the Underworld. Herc should be able to handle him. But then again, maybe not... This doesn't look good." Phil interrupted and shook his head, also looking in the same direction as the boy. Donald and Goofy soon followed suit, their weapons twitching slighting in their hands. A bit anxious?  
  
That question was answered when Sora began taking those fateful steps forward.  
  
****

**There you go. Yes, a bit sexual tension between Bella-Donna and Riku. So sue me, I couldn't help it. I know, I know there isn't much with Sora and Erin in this chapter, but I ran low on inspiration for this one. There will be more next time, promise. But in the mean time, REVIEW!!!!**


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Can this be? Am I actually back so soon? What the hells going on you ask? Well, I guess I have been bitten by the writing bug, and I must write! Either that or I will develop an unsightly rash…Anyway, read the chapter, I hope its better then the last one.**  
  
Chapter Eleven  
  
Erin's house was clean. Very, very clean. The wooden floors were glossy beyond belief, and dust that usually clung to various trinkets around any other home was nonexistent in this home. The mother of the household continuously cleaned day after day, seeing it that she didn't have a job. Mrs. Delilah Jeffington was as short, excitable, and one minded as her daughter was. Her hair was always cut short in a no-nonsense manner, and her makeup was always perfectly applied though she rarely went anywhere except her garage and the grocery store.  
  
She was a housewife right out of a fifties black and white T.V. series. And the thing Bella couldn't understand was that the woman liked her life that way. She just prayed that Mrs. Jeffington didn't turn Erin into a clone of Joan Clever as well. Of course, not all of the family was like ol' Delilah.  
  
Her husband, Darrel, was a construction worker outside of town who was a real meat and potato's man. Every night at seven o'clock he would stomp up the front porch with his dirt covered boots, and dump his work belt and hard hat in the entry hall inside. The truth be told, if anyone had seen Mr. Jeffington from a distance, they would probably think he was the kind to beat on his wife. Scars from fighting in his youth marred his face in small lines, his jaw was stiff and constantly adorned by a fife o'clock shadow, his eyes were the darkest brown, so brown in fact that they nearly looked black. His black hair was shaved close to his head in a military style, and the last thing that finished off his look was the grimace that seem to always be poured over his face.  
  
Violent. That was the first word that popped into B.D.'s head when she first met Darrel all those years ago, and she was sure the same thing popped into Riku's when he laid eyes on the man. However, looks were often deceiving. The day Erin brought the little Egyptian girl home to play with her vast collection of Barbie's, Mr. Jeffington had immediately offered a friendly smile and a cookie to the girl. The case was no different when the two teenagers entered the house and found the man lounging in his lazy boy recliner.  
  
"Hey there, Bella." his gruff voice greeted as he tilted his head around the chair to look at her and Riku. "New boyfriend?"  
  
Ah, yes. Mr. Jeffington always did know the right things to say.  
  
"No, Darrel, this is Rick, my _friend_. Rick, this is Darrel, Erin's dad." she explained and pointed back and forth between the two males. They both nodded and gave a small 'hi', or 'hey' in response. B.D. had to hold back a sigh. What was it with men and quiet greetings?  
  
"Bella-Donna, how good to see you again!" a new voice stated enthusiastically as the woman who was responsible for banging on the car window a few minutes earlier entered the room.  
  
"Hey, Mrs. Jeffington." the girl greeted with a smile. She didn't know why, but for some reason, she just found it hard to call the woman by her first name. The squatty little woman pranced into the room with her hair covered by a handkerchief and a white apron wrapped around her body.  
  
"And who's this young man?" Delilah asked. The teen clenched her jaw, hoping that the woman wouldn't ask about the 'boyfriend' issue like her husband did. After a few seconds, Bella let out a soft sigh when she only glanced back and forth between the teens with curious brown eyes.  
  
"He's name is Rick. He's Bella's_ friend_." Darrel broke in with a smirk, emphasizing the last word, bringing a slight glare from the girl.  
  
"Oh, how nice. So good to meet you Rick." Mrs. Jeffington smiled and gestured in the direction of the kitchen. "Would you two like something to eat, drink, anything I can get for you?"  
  
"Don't you ever think you're coming on a little strong?" a quiet, yet still powerful voice commented as a dark clothed male walked through the still open door and into the house. Vincent Jeffington. The seventeen-year-old was the 'bad seed of the family' as many put it, and B.D. knew why. If she hadn't known better, she would have said that Vincent Valentine was inspired by this guy. Unlike the rest of the family, his hair was baby fine and ran down his shoulders in perfectly straight, midnight black strands. His eyes were of a lighter brown then his mother or father, and bordered on the edge of crimson. Vincent's face was attractive in a pale sort of way, with high cheekbones and sharp features that could fit into either a startling handsome or down right scary category. In fact, he looked and acted so much like the game character that Erin sometimes called him 'Valentine', just to rile him up. That always earned her a cold glare. However, when the best friend called him by the nickname, he only glanced over at her with a small twitch at the corner of his mouth.  
  
"Hi, Vincent." Bella-Donna said as softly has he spoke with a strange little crooked smile.  
  
"Hello, Bella-Donna." he nodded with a small smile of his own. Vince was the only member of the family that called her by her full name, and he was also the only member of the family that seemed to actually make real eye contact when talking to her. And Riku was pretty quick to pick it up…  
  
"I'm Rick." the younger of the two males stated firmly and held his hand out to Vincent. B.D. quirked a brow slightly when she noticed the little gleam lining his aquatic eyes.  
  
"Vincent." the other finally answered after staring at Riku's gloved hand for a few moments. They shook hands, and the room immediately filled to the brim with tension. Crimson and teal eyes locked as the grip of hands between them tightened from the secret battle that was raging between the two. Bella's eyes darted back and forth between the two anxiously. Vincent was tall. A lot taller then Riku. But she had a feeling that if some reason push came to shove, Riku's well formed muscles could be a fair opponent to the older ones lean body.  
  
"How 'bout that homework, Delilah?" the girl finally broke the silence and clapped her hands in front of her. Almost instantly Vincent and Riku let go of each others hands and the tension drained down to a manageable puddle. But from the corner of her eye, B.D. could see the two still fighting it out with their eyes.  
  
"Yes, it should be up in her room." Mrs. Jeffington responded, her voice a little edgy. Obviously, the young woman hadn't been the only one to notice the change in atmosphere. However, by the sound of Darrel's voice as he watched a football game, he was blissfully unaware of what was happening behind him.  
  
"Right, thanks. Come on, Rick. I'll show you Erin's room, you and Vincent can play later." This little statement broke the eye lock, and Riku turned his glare on Bella for saying such a thing. Vincent on the other hand just stared at the two as the girl pulled the sliver haired by his arm up the stairs and out of sight.  
  
The spotless white hallway was covered in pictures of the two Jeffington kids. Pictures of when Erin was five with curly pigtails, and pink and green dresses, all the way up to her newest school picture where she was dressed in a simple quote t-shirt and jeans. The other side of the hall was dedicated to Vincent's progress in growing. It was almost hard to believe the little boy with light brown, bowl cut hair, and a toothless smile was him. B.D. had never seen Vincent smile that big in real life.  
  
Finally the two reached the poster covered door to the teens room. Bella stomped in after she lightly shoved Riku inside and slammed the door behind her. She had been thinking about the occurrence downstairs on the way up, and she had decided that if Riku was going to ask about her odd behavior with Bianca, then she had the right to ask about his own eccentric acting.  
  
"What the hell was that all about?" Bella-Donna demanded more then asked.  
  
"What the hell was what all about?" Riku fired back and crossed his arms over his chest.  
  
"Oh come on, Riku, I'm not that stupid," she went on and crossed her own arms, mocking him. "You were ready to tear his throat out with your teeth if you had been able to reach."  
  
"Are you saying I'm short?"  
  
"That's completely irrelevant, Riku!" the blue eyed girl screeched in a whispered voice.  
  
"I don't like that guy. He stares at people all wrong." he explained stubbornly and jerked his head toward the door where he was just sure that weirdo was eavesdropping on their conversation.  
  
"How many people have you seen him stare at?" she asked, and irritated confusion marking her face. She thought about what he had said for a few seconds, before she leaned back with grin on her face. "You mean, he stares at _me_ all wrong?"  
  
This said, Riku moved his eyes back to her from the spot on the door he was staring at. For a while he just opened and closed his mouth like he wanted to say something, but he only succeeded in looking like a fish out of water.  
  
"That's what you meant, wasn't it?" Bella pried on and took a few steps toward the still stern looking Riku. When he only glared at her, she let out a little huff. "That's it isn't it? Why…why, I'd even go so far as to say you're jealous."  
  
"Jealous?" he finally lashed out and threw his arms out to his sides. "Why would I be jealous of that guy?!"  
  
"Would you be quiet!" the Egyptian hushed him by smacking him lightly on the head. "And as for the jealously thing, as you put it earlier, 'I don't know, why would you be?' "  
  
"And why aren't you talking to him about this? He did it as much as I did." Riku calmly asked.  
  
"Because you should know better."  
  
"Oh, really?"  
  
"Yes, really." she hissed out through clenched teeth before she turned and started rummaging through Erin's desk where the girl usually stored her homework. Shaking her head, she mumbled to herself. "Besides, I can't blame him."  
  
"Why not?" the young man behind her demanded before stomping toward her. Standing to her full height, Bella glared at the curious eyes of Riku.  
  
"I wasn't talking to you. Must you listen to everything I say?"  
  
"Most girls would appreciate that." he said with a small smirk on his face.  
  
"Shut up." Bella-Donna grumbled and went back to her looking before Riku could see the small smile on her own face.  
  
"You still didn't answer my question."  
  
"What question was that?" her voice asked with false stupidity.  
  
"Why can't you blame him?"  
  
"Because," she started but drifted off as she pulled a few notebooks and a folder out of the desk drawer. Tapping the stack of items on the desk to get them even, she finished her sentence during the light bangs. "Because he's my ex-'boyfriend'."  
  
"What?"  
  
B.D. winced. That wasn't a 'what did you say' what, that was a 'what the hell' what. It was true. Not to long ago dark and creepy Vincent suddenly asked fun and sarcastic Bella-Donna if she wanted to go the play in town with him. Sure it was The Phantom of the Opera and a little depressing, but she had fun. It had been a good few months, but as time went on, Bella had found that even though Vincent did open up more after they had been 'dating', though she thought it was odd to put his name and the word dating in the same sentence, he just wasn't the right guy for her. Not to mention Erin almost went into a series of seizures when she discovered her Vincent Valentine look-a-like brother and her best friend were dating.  
  
It wasn't a hard break up, but it wasn't that easy either. According to Erin, Vincent went directly back to his reclusive manner after she ended he long relationship. Yeah, they still talked now and then, but only when B.D. was over at the house. Never did one call the other just to talk about various things that they couldn't say to anyone else, or just listen to each other breath like they used to. So who cared if she could still feel that bit inside of her that absolutely adored that dark and mysterious nature of Vincent? Bella had a feeling that Riku would care.  
  
"He was your boyfriend?" the mentioned boy questioned with a hint of irritation in his voice.  
  
"Yeah, what of it?" the girl asked, suddenly defensive.  
  
"He just doesn't seem like your type." Riku said stiffly, taking note of B.D.'s change of tone.  
  
"People like him usually aren't my type." she admitted before heading toward the door. Pulling it open, she stepped out into the hall to see into the room of Vincent across the hall. Black furniture, dark wallpaper, dark carpet, and black drapes. It was a heavy contrast to the light décor of the rest of the house. As she walked down the hall, she could feel Riku following closely behind, his eyes borrowing into the back of her head. Why was he so sensitive about this kind of thing when he had Kairi? Should she be mad about his jealousy? After all, he had no right to be jealous when he had the island girl. But if she should be mad, then why did she have the huge urge to smile like a moron?  
  
"Find it, honey?" Mrs. Jeffington's voice asked as the two descended the stairs.  
  
"Yep, thanks, Mrs. Jeffington." Bella-Donna answered with a smile and held up the stack of notebooks. The woman's face was so cheerful that it was made contagious. In the back of her mind, B.D. had to wonder how in the world Auntie Albie told the Jeffington family that Erin would be gone for a while without telling exactly where she was. The mind of a genius probably had a hay day with Delilah's gullible personality.  
  
"Oh, Bella, if you don't mind, could you bring Erin a bag of food? She forgot to pack any when she was last here." Erin's mom asked and pointed into the kitchen with a pleading look on her face. The girl nodded with a small smile.  
  
"Sure thing, Mrs. Jeffington." B.D. agreed and jerked lightly when Mr. Jeffington's excited yell came from in front of the television. Another touchdown she supposed. Behind her, Riku gave his own chuckle at the man as the two shuffled their way into the white and blue kitchen. It was all wonderfully colored coordinated. White cabinets lined the walls while light blue tile covered the counter tops below them. A large island sat in the middle of the kitchen with the same blue tiling and white paint. Eight blue and white stools stood around the island, one filled up by a lone eating family member. A family member that clashed terribly with the cheerful little kitchen.  
  
"Hey, Vincent." Bella mumbled as she caught sight of him and wished desperately that Riku would use common sense and head for the car before that wave of tension rushed over the house again.  
  
Vincent just rose his hand in a small wave after he lifted his eyes from his plate of spaghetti and set them on the girl. The two just stared at each other as she walked by and to the refrigerator behind him. As soon as she was out of his line of vision, Vincent moved his gaze around the room to see Riku taking a seat on the opposite end of the island without being asked. It seemed that when males were being threatened or intimidated, they didn't wait for permission from anyone. The older of the two went back to eating, but he kept his attention on the strange boy across from him.  
  
The rustling of a paper bag and the scrape of Vincent's fork on his plate were the only sounds that ran through the kitchen. Cold air flowed out of the fridge and chilled Bella to the point of goose bumps. Gathering some various things from hotdogs, to a small can of caviar, that B.D. had no clue why Erin liked, the girl placed them all in the bag and pushed the door closed with her hip. Turning to the counter, she next went for the basket of fruit that Mrs. Jeffington always made sure was full. Apples, oranges, and pears would do for Erin, but Bella-Donna was sure to take a few star fruits for herself.  
  
"Your _friend_ is awfully tense, Bella-Donna." a soft voice commented before dishes were placed in the sink next to her. She didn't even have to turn her head to know who it was. The sound of his voice and the sound of her full name told her right off. She didn't know why, but for some reason, Vincent always enjoyed her name. Probably because it was a poisonous plant.  
  
"Yeah, he can be like that sometimes." she answered and glanced over her shoulder toward Riku with humor in her eyes. Turning back to the growing bag of food, she couldn't help but watch as Vincent washed away the excess sauce away from his plate, dousing a small bit of his black cuff that rested over his pale fingers in the water. Vincent always did have really nice hands…  
  
"I assume he is going back with you?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah he is." Bella nodded and took another glance back at Riku who was staring at the two with unmoving eyes.  
  
"Will you be leaving today?" Vincent went on with another question. This wasn't like him. This little conversation was to much like small talk for the black haired young man. B.D. had a feeling that she knew what he was doing. Vincent wasn't stupid, not in the least. He knew that Riku's jealousy was flaring up behind him like a wildfire, and he knew that the smallest little word or touch he sent toward Bella-Donna would make that fire grow to violent proportions.  
  
"Yeah." she answered with another nod and opened the drawer under the counter to pull out a knife to cut up the star fruit.  
  
"Well, take care wherever you go when you leave, Bella-Donna" Vincent turned the water off in the sink and gave her a little touch on the arm before taking long strides out of the kitchen.  
  
"See you later, Valentine." B.D. smiled and tilted her head up slightly to see the pale lips of Vincent turn upward into a hardly noticeable smirk before he left the room and disappeared up the stairway.  
  
"Valentine?" a hoarse voice asked from behind followed by the sound of footsteps. Yet another smile worked its way up on her face.  
  
"Its just a nickname Riku, calm down." she chuckled out between the sound of the knife cutting into the fruit in front of her.  
  
"He still likes you, Bella." Riku stated like he had discovered something incredible as he leaned against the counter where Vincent was previously standing.  
  
"Probably." the girl shrugged nonchalantly. The islander just stared at her intently.  
  
"That's all you have to say about it? 'Probably'?" he drawled out and placed his outspread hands on the cold tile of the counter.  
  
"What do you want me to say? I broke up with him, he didn't break up with me. Erin's come to the same riveting conclusion you have." she muttered sarcastically before popping a piece of yellow fruit in her mouth. Riku grunted beside her and tilted his head down toward the cutting board covered in the odd stuff she was shoving into her mouth. His gloved hand reached over and picked up a piece before bringing it up towards his eyes to study. When he did get a good look at the object, his eyes went wide.  
  
"You can eat a piece if you want."  
  
"You want me to eat a piece?" the boy asked with his eyes still as wide as dinner plates. Bella only shifted her eyes around a bit confused.  
  
"I guess so…I didn't know it was that big of a deal."  
  
"Not a big deal? You've gotta be the first person I've heard that said this wasn't a big deal."  
  
"Well…how many people have offered you one?" Bella asked with a quirked brow. What was Riku getting at?  
  
"A few girls back on Destiny Islands." he answered with a smug look on his face.  
  
"Oh boy, a few girls!" B.D. cried out, sarcasm coating her words. "A few girls offering you a piece of star fruit is nothing to get cocky about Riku."  
  
"Star fruit?" Riku asked with a surprised look on his face. "Since when does anyone call a paopu fruit, star fruit?"  
  
"Paopu fruit?" Bella chuckled out and shook her head. "This isn't a paopu, its just star fruit, Riku. You thought I was offering you a piece of a paopu fruit?"  
  
"Quiet," he glared and looked the piece of fruit over again. "It looks like a paopu."  
  
"Yeah, after its cut," she started and pulled a whole star fruit out of the basket. "This is what it looks like whole. See, doesn't even resemble a paopu."  
  
"Does a little bit. The outside has the same kind of skin. How do you know this just isn't your worlds paopu fruit?" he grinned and tossed the fruit into the air then caught it again.  
  
"Its not." Bella-Donna reassured and took another bite. Riku watched her for a few moments before letting out a sigh and looked down at the star shaped piece that was still in his hand. The outside was the same texture and color as the paopu he remembered back home. The inside had the same look as well. Could it be this worlds paopu? Judging by the way Bella gave it out so easily, it probably wasn't. But, then again, one never knew. It was then that a thought came to Riku's mind.  
  
"Did you ever share one of these with that Vincent guy?"  
  
"Riku, give it a rest." B.D. laughed and wrapped all the fruit up in the bag before pulling the boy toward the doorway by his arm. Dragging his feet across the carpet of the living room floor and giving a small wave to the Jeffingtons, Riku looked over the girl toward the metal deathtrap called a car they were about to enter. She said something to him before she opened the door on her side, but he never heard her. Instead, he was to busy listening to the sound of his chewing on the piece of strange fruit.

* * *

"You just had to try to fight didn't you?"  
  
"I just-"  
  
"You couldn't listen to anything I said, could you?"  
  
"I didn't-"  
  
"Why are you so stubborn?"  
  
"I was-OW!" Sora exclaimed as Erin slapped a bit gob of anesthetic on one of his cuts. Burn free…yeah right. Sure, he was accustom to using Cure or Cura on his wounds, but Erin convinced him that they needed to save up. No need to waste them on little things like elbow scratches.  
  
"Oh, stop complaining. You brought this on yourself you know!" the young woman scolded and rubbed the goop over the red skin with her finger before placing a large bandage over it.  
  
"But I-"  
  
" 'But you', nothing! You should listen to me more, Sora. You could have gotten killed! Being eaten alive is no way to go, Mr. Keyblade master."  
  
"You really do have a lovely bedside manner, Erin." Sora said sarcastically, but smiled good naturedly up at her from his spot on the floor of the Gummi ship. Actually, she was very right. That huge dog thing had nearly torn him to shreds, all because he hadn't listened to Erin's advice. She said he needed to go back to Traverse Town first to get some more practice before taking on a big foe like Cerberus. And what Erin wants, Erin will eventually get.  
  
"I'm serious, Sora. You need to be more careful," the petite girl sighed out as she sat down next to the boy. This serious tone of voice brought his blue eyes up from the floor and up to her face. "Before you know it you'll be mixing your colors with your whites. The world doesn't need that kind of recklessness!"  
  
And in a blink of an eye that seriousness was gone.  
  
"Yes, and what a catastrophe that would be." Sora laughed and leaned his head back on the wall. Erin giggled a bit beside him and mocked his movement. Looking down toward his feet, the boy almost laughed again when he saw the difference between the girls small feet and his own. The girl was smaller then him in almost every way. Tiny hands, little wrists, nearly scrawny legs. She was just small, and that made her absolutely adorable.  
  
"I wonder what Cleo's doin'." said girl wondered out loud and stretched her legs out to their full length. "I'm not used to not seeing her for this long."  
  
"If she's with Riku I'm sure she's okay." Sora reassured with a brief nod. "Or…it might be the other way around."  
  
"Got that right. Ol' Cleo's not the kind to be taken care of." Erin chuckled and rolled her head on the wall toward the boy next to her.  
  
"I'm sure Riku will be able to break her of that." he added in with a slight smile.  
  
"Yeah, maybe…someday…far, far away."  
  
"Hey you two!" a voice quaked out from the cockpit. "We're here!"  
  
"Alright, alright." huffed out and watched Sora pull himself up before he offered her a hand. Taking it with a grateful smirk she yanked herself to her feet and pulled her jeans back up. She really should remember to get a belt the next time she goes back.  
  
Traverse Town was as quiet as it was the last time they had stopped by. A few people passed by here and there, a Moggle tripped its way up the steps in front of the Accessory Shop, and the candles burned brightly in the outdoor café. Being in the Heartless free First District was a welcome relief from the busy Deep Jungle and Wonderland. The four walked over the cobble stones silently. For some reason Traverse Town brought about a need for silence, even from the talkative Erin.  
  
This would be the trip to the little town where Sora defeats the Opposite Armor and locks the keyhole. It would also be the visit when they would see Riku and Bella-Donna, though Erin didn't quite tell Sora that. No need to give away his whole future. Another good thing that would come of this was that she would get to see Leon again. Oh, how she loved that Gunblade wielder.  
  
"So, Erin, what's gonna happen next?" Sora suddenly asked with humor in his voice.  
  
"Uh…I, um…I don't…" the girl stuttered terribly as the small group passed through the gates to the Second District.  
  
"Erin?"  
  
"Uh huh?"  
  
"I was just teasing you." he laughed and put and arm around her shoulders to shake her into loosening up. Alright, he still hadn't gotten her to admit that she was lying about anything so far, and he hoped that Riku was having about as much luck as he was. The guy didn't need to beat him at everything.  
  
"I knew that." she scoffed and stuffed her hands into her jean pockets roughly.  
  
"Sure you did." Sora started up again with a small laugh. Erin was about to retaliate with a series of offending words and gestures, but a strange sound from behind them cut her off. Two, no three…no, four Heartless Soldiers were suddenly jerking about around them. Almost immediately and instinctively, the otherworldly girl grabbed onto Sora's back and forced him in front of her. She had come face to face with many types of Heartless over the past few days, and she still couldn't get used to being around them so freely. Of course, her three male companions had no such thoughts. They all barreled into battle, blade, staff, and shield ready for anything.  
  
"You get 'em, guys!" Erin called out enthusiastically as she backed up slowly away from the scene. They could surely handle this on their own. Of course if she had a weapon of her own she would be right out there fighting with them…with the smaller Heartless though. Maybe a White Mushroom or a Blue Rhapsody. Those were her kind of Heartless.  
  
"Erin, look out behind ya!" Goofy warned and pointed in the girls direction. Like a scene straight out of a horror movie, she slowly turned her head around. She could just see her blood splattering on the wall from the bite of a Defender, or a concussion from an Air Soldier. Sweat covered her palms as she slowly turned her gaze over the shoulder to look upon the creature that would surely be in the concoction of her doom. Her knees shook with the fury of an earthquake as she met the eyes of the floating beast.  
  
"Ahhhh!" Erin, and it seemed even the flying thing screamed in unison. From behind Sora turned his attention toward the girl hearing her scream, and raced off in her direction to be the almighty brave hero. He pushed the shaky Soldiers out of the way one by one until he could finally see the clear image of the brown haired girl laying on the ground screaming bloody murder. For she was in the direct path of a…  
  
Green Requiem.  
  
Sora just stood there, his Keyblade hanging loose in his grip, eyes wide, and mouth open. A Green Requiem, she was screaming because of that little thing? A Heartless that didn't even attack? At that thought the boys shocked face soon turned to entertainment as he watched the green thing bounce around in the air around Erin, probably more frightened then she was. It would be wrong to laugh at the girls panic. It would be wrong, so he wouldn't do it. He wouldn't laugh…he wouldn't laugh…he…wouldn't….  
  
"Aahahahaha!"  
  
"Shut up and kill this stupid thing, Sora!" the embarrassed girl demanded as she tried to scoot herself away from the Cure casting Heartless.  
  
"I…can't…stop…" he tried to choke out, but only made himself fall face first on the stone ground, laughs still escaping his mouth in short gasps. He could just imagine the hurt he would be in if the girl hadn't been so frightened. To think, she had seen a Guard Armor, countless Power Wilds, and had come face to face with the Trickmaster. Yet, here she was, afraid of a wee little Greet Requiem.  
  
"Sora!"  
  
"Oh for crying out loud!" Donald exclaimed and rushed forward, shooing off the little Heartless. With a twirl and a sprinkle of green, it took off around the corner leaving the girl panting on the ground. The sound of the ducks webbed feet and Goofy's large shoes pounding on the stone as they passed her were mixed with Donald's aggravated grumbling and the dogs slight giggling from the whole ordeal. From behind, Sora could still be heard choking on his laughter. Struggling to her feet, Erin dusted herself off from back to feet before stomping toward the Keyblade master. He only looked up at her from the ground, sapphire eyes wide and glazed with tears of entertainment.  
  
"Wh-what?" he asked in false innocence as he desperately tried to wipe away his grin.  
  
"You are such an idiot." Erin grumbled and crossed her small arms tightly across her chest, face burning with embarrassment.  
  
"I'm an idiot? I'm not the one screaming about…a…Green…Requiem…" he gasped out, short bursts of giggling escaping now and then. Sora could guess that his comments weren't helping the situation whatsoever, and the grim look on the girls face proved that instantly. She also continued to prove it when she left with a glare and made her way down the staircase. Off in the distance he could hear Donald screaming for them to hurry up, but laying there on the refreshingly cool ground was a big reason for him not to move. Visiting different worlds, fighting monsters…dealing with Erin, it was all very tiring for the fourteen-year-old. He was used to days on the beach with nothing to do but draw on cave walls, and duel with his various friends.  
  
His friends.  
  
What had happened to Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie? Did they manage to make it to another world like Erin and he did? If not, where were they? And what about Riku and Bella-Donna? His best friend seemed awfully sure of himself as he stood in the circle of darkness all those days ago. They both surely would have made it to another world, right? Of course. And they would take care of each other. That thought almost made him let out a small laugh. He wasn't kidding when he said that maybe Bella was really taking care of Riku instead of the other way around.  
  
Riku was strong, brave, and smart. But all the years Sora had known him, he had discovered that the older boy didn't like to be alone that much. If they had been thrown into another world, Riku wouldn't know what the hell was going on. And if Bella was as educated about this whole thing as Erin was, the girl would probably be taking more care of the silver hair then he was taking care of her. It was almost funny to say it, big he-man Riku being taken care of by a girl.  
  
"You still alive?" a voice shattered his thoughts and the face of Erin appeared above his head. Obviously she wasn't the type of person to hold a grudge, judging by her slight smile as she bent over him with her hands planted on her thin knees.  
  
"And kicking." Sora gave that big goofy grin before propping himself up on his elbows.  
  
"Duck boy and Goofy are waiting. Come on." she continued and held a hand out to him with a hand on her hip. For a few seconds, the young Keyblade master just looked up at her smiling face with a small sigh. He supposed she was right, even though if he didn't have an agenda he would have just stayed right there on the ground and slept. Instead, he took the girls hand in his own and allowed the frail female to haul him up to his feet.  
  
"Alright, alright. As long as you don't freak out on me again." he chuckled when the girl whacked him on the back of the head with a closed fist before taking off down the stairs again. Sora soon followed calling out words of an apology.  
  
"About time!" Donald screamed as the two rounded the corner into the alley. Resting his staff against his shoulder, the duck waddled on down the narrow street, Goofy trailing close behind, giggling every now and then at the still going argument between the two teenagers who were still lingering back by the first shallow pool of water. Before the Disney characters knew it, a splash sounded followed by Sora's voice yelling out curses at Erin who threw them right back with some spice added in. Donald's ragged sigh echoed through the Secret Waterway signaling that the two were being left behind.  
  
"Wait for us!" the both cried out in unison before they charged down the alley and into the tunnel.  
  
The cramped space was dark, the only light being from the end. It was hard to tell exactly where the deep parts were and where the shallow parts were, so Erin just kept herself afloat the entire time. Every now and then, Sora would push her under slightly. But then he would always regret it by her retaliation of full on splashes and dunks. Of course, they both regretted the little water fight when Sora sometimes resurfaced a bit to close to the girl, sending them both into a fit of redness.  
  
"So, you found the Keyhole." Leon's voice reverberated throughout the cavern, sending chills up Erin's already cold body. Oh, that Squall.  
  
"Yeah, the Keyblade locked it automatically." Sora responded with a small nod, shaking some of the water from his wet hair.  
  
"Good."  
  
"The Heartless enter through the Keyhole and do something to the world's core." the Gunblade master went on after Aerith.  
  
"What happens to the world?" the boy asked with curiosity in his eyes. Beside him, Erin wrung the water from her clothing, knowing that it would be useless. After all, they would just have to go through the water again anyway.  
  
"In the end," the pink clad woman continued. "it disappears."  
  
"What!?" the three visiting males yelled in surprise.  
  
"That's why your key is so important." Leon explained in his usual deadpan voice.  
  
"Please lock the Keyholes. You're the only one who can." Aerith begged and clasped her hands in front of her chest, those big green eyes staring at Sora. Erin almost rolled her eyes when the young man let out a big grin. No wonder Cloud fell for the flower girl.  
  
"I…I don't know." he answered, snapping out of the small trance he was in.  
  
"Seeing other worlds would probably serve you well." the tallest male in the cavern offered up.  
  
"Yeah!" Donald agreed with a quick nod on his bill.  
  
"Yeah, and besides, you have to find Kairi anyway, right?" Erin shrugged and rested an elbow on his shoulder with a small smirk.  
  
"We gotta find your friends," Goofy added, "And King Mickey!"  
  
"I guess you're right…Okay!" the young man quickly agreed after looking back and forth between everyone. Aerith instantly gave him a loving smile and Leon nodded his head approvingly. All was set. He was to travel the worlds, lock all the Keyholes, and find his friends. Piece of cake.  
  
"Sora, remember, you gotta ask about that Gummi block." the girl reminded with a small nudge toward Leon.  
  
"Why don't you ask him?" the chestnut haired boy asked with a half smile and a quirked brow.  
  
"Wh-whats that suppose to mean?"  
  
"Since you've been looking at him all googly eyed I figured you'd want a chance to talk to him." Sora said with rolled eyes as he crossed his arms lightly over his chest.  
  
"No, I can't talk to him!" she exclaimed and hid herself behind Sora, away from the practicing Leon.  
  
"Why not? Scared?" he taunted and tossed the Gummi block from hand to hand as he stared at her with a sly expression.  
  
"No I'm not scared." Erin spat before she gave her own smirk. "And while we're on the subject…why don't you go over and say 'hey' to Ms. Aerith over there?"  
  
"Aerith?" Sora gulped as the girl jerked her thumb toward the pink woman who was leaning against the cave wall.  
  
"Yeah, go on, talk to her if you think or so brave." she sneered and pushed him lightly.  
  
"Heh, I'm not scared." the boy laughed slightly and pushed the girl back a bit harder.  
  
"Bet you are."  
  
Another push.  
  
"Bet I'm not."  
  
Another.  
  
"I think you're chicken."  
  
Push.  
  
"I think you're a…a…chicken too!"  
  
Another push.  
  
"Nice comeback!" Erin yelled with a raised voice as she gave Sora one last shove. However, this time she lost control of her strength. Before Sora knew it he was underwater, again with an annoying little rock poking him in the back. Pulling himself out of the water to see Erin with a smug look on her face, he trudged up to her, got right in her face, and started to give her a piece of his mind, until…  
  
"Where's the Gummi?" she asked with a shocked look and grabbed his hands in search.  
  
"Uh…um…I…"  
  
"You dropped it didn't you?!" "Well you pushed me I was caught off guard!"  
  
"You're the Keyblade master, you're not suppose to be caught off guard!"  
  
"You two fight like a married couple." Donald mumbled and tapped his foot in an aggravated manner.  
  
"Shut up!" the teenagers yelled before they dove into the water in search of the missing piece.

* * *

Hollow Bastion was its normal strange, cold, and creepy self. The Entry Hall was completely deserted as Bella-Donna and Riku strolled in the front door. The splashes of the fountain in front of them and the sound of their footsteps where the only things that echoed through the huge room. The silence wasn't because of a fight they had on the way back, or the lack of something to talk about, it was simply because the eerie room seemed to demand quiet. The two huddled together as they walked down the narrow hallway to the Lift Shop, eager to leave the menacing chamber.  
  
The trip back to the game world went fairly smooth. Auntie Albie did nothing else to turn the teens faces red, and Riku never brought up the subject of Vincent again. Though B.D. had the feeling that in the future his name would pop up in an argument. Unfortunately, the two hadn't appeared back where they left. Instead, the phone booth dropped them off in the Rising Falls, far from the safety of the bedroom. The threat of being discovered by Maleficent was something that plagued the girl with every corner that they turned. If the vicious woman found out that Bella had been bringing Riku off to far away places, the outcome couldn't be good. Though it was pretty easy to defeat the sorceress in the game, the girl had an instinct that told her it wouldn't be so easy without a Keyblade, spells, and two other people backing her up.  
  
"Something on your mind, Bella?" Riku's voice brought her back with the question. Turning her head to him, she gave a shake of her head and a small smile.  
  
"No…not really." she lied through her teeth. The halls of their floor were filled with Shadows, bustling back and forth. What the reason was for it, she had no idea, but Bella felt surprisingly unconcerned by the groups of hazardous creatures. Maybe she was getting the hang of this immortality thing. It was that small thought that brought her attention clattering down as she turned the corner to their left, bedroom bound. The familiar grunt from the unknown person sounded familiar as did the vicious sound Riku made when he laid eyes on the being. From her fallen spot on the floor, Bella could only guess as to who it was.  
  
"We've gotta stop meetin' like this, babe."  
  
"Hello, Hades." the girl mumbled as she stared up at the ceiling, still laying flat on her back. Overhead, the god of the Underworld bent slightly to look down at her while cocking his head to the side bringing a slight 'whoosh' noise from his flaming hair.  
  
"Where've you two been? Ol' green and gruesome has been sendin' out a search party." the tall man explained and crossed his arms over his broad chest. B.D. sighed as she pulled herself up with the assistance of Riku, who was still glaring daggers at the god.  
  
"In other words," she started, "she sent you to look for us?"  
  
"Hey, hey, hey, I'm nobodies errand boy." Hades said sharply and narrowed his yellow tinted eyes menacingly.  
  
"Then why are you still here?" Riku demanded, gaze stern. Instantly, the gray god turned toward the boy. For a few moments, Bella was left to simply glance back and forth between the two, much like she was forced to do earlier with Riku and Vincent. However, this time, she hoped, it wasn't because of the threat in the competition category.  
  
"Mind your own business, kid." the silence was finally broken by the sharp toothed villain. Riku opened his mouth to respond, but Hades quickly turned his attention back to the female.  
  
"But as I was saying, Maleficent wants to see you two down in the Chapel. Somethin' about you goin' on a little 'fieldtrip'." he mumbled on with hand gestures and leaned heavily against the wall, face unusually calm and collected.  
  
"Fieldtrip?" Riku questioned with a quirked brow.  
  
Ah, fieldtrip indeed. It was all starting to make sense to B.D. The scampering Heartless, the searching Hades, and the basic restlessness of the castle. Time sure did seem to fly in the game world; already Maleficent was summoning them for the 'fieldtrip', as Hades so eloquently put it, to Traverse Town. This little journey would probably prove to be the big test in trust between Riku and Bella-Donna. Either the islander would believe the sorceresses lies about Sora's betrayal, or Bella's words of truth on the matter. The turning point in the game was just over the horizon, and the girl was becoming concerned with how she was going to convince Riku that she was telling the truth, and not Maleficent. As he had said so many times before, she wasn't exact lying being the most honest person when it came to some things. Why should he believe her? Was the fact that they were close friends enough? She sure hoped so, because if it wasn't…things were going to cave in around her little plan of a better outcome.


	12. Attention Readers

Ladies and gentlemen…well, mostly ladies judging by the reviews…I'm giving all of you readers a quick notice. This story will be temporarily put on pause for an unknown amount of time. I appreciate your generous reviews, but unfortunately there are other stories which I have begun that demand more of my attention. This story will always have a place in my mind and I will constantly be pondering ways to continue it, but at the moment I feel that my writing wouldn't be to my potential if I continued without any 'spark' for this particular story. 

I assure you that I will continue with this story at a later date and the chapters will be to your liking. Please do not forget this story, for it will return, and please support me in this decision. It is not only for this story's good, but for the other stories as well.

Thank you.

mustang-grl aka McKenzie 


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